Dare to Feel
by cr8vgrl
Summary: The twins enlist Hermione's help at WWW since Verity's getting married and leaving. However, when Fred's high maintenance girlfriend starts wearing on everyone's nerves, can Hermione let the love that's been brewing in her heart come out? Will she dare?
1. Working for the Twins

**A/N: The plot is from WeasleyForMe, the characters belong to J.K. Rowling, so I pretty much own nothing! Hope you enjoy though. This is sort of the "testing-the-waters" chapter. **

* * *

"Watch Out!"

Instinctively, Hermione looked up from her worn copy of _Howarts: A History_ and saw an object hurtling towards her. Her hand shot out and grabbed the Quaffle before it came too close to her face. Her eyes widened for a moment after the Quaffle thunked into her hand, and then she turned her attention to the people coming close to her.

Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie all came flying up on their brooms, looking from a startled Hermione to the Quaffle in her hand, and back again. It was the twins that spoke first. "Wicked catch, Hermione!" they chorused, grinning broadly. However, Fred's face darkened after a moment and he added, "You shouldn't have done that, though."

Hermione blinked, finally coming out of her shock. "What?" she managed to ask.

Fred's eyes showed nothing but concern as he said, "It could've been a Bludger. It could've cost you your hand."

Hermione, thinking he was making fun of her, felt her anger begin to warm her blood and she tossed her hair defiantly. "I'm not so ignorant of quidditch that I don't know the difference between a Quaffle and a Bludger, Fred Weasley." Her eyes narrowed and her fingers dug into the leather covering of the Quaffle, making crescent shapes.

"Perhaps," Fred conceded, "but you didn't look like you thought much before you stuck your hand out. It looked more like you just reacted."

"It was a brilliant catch, Hermione," Harry interjected before Hermione could retort. "We're just looking out for you." He held out his hand and smiled at his friend. "Can we have our Quaffle now?"

Hermione felt tension drain out of her at her friend's careful words and she tossed the Quaffle to Harry, ignoring everyone else as she turned back to her book. "Come on, guys," Ginny said, gripping her broom tightly.

"Hermione-" Fred started, but George shook his head.

"Let it go, Gred," George told him, and soon, they were taking to the sky again.

Hermione tried to ignore the happy shouts above her as her friends continued their game, and soon, she was engrossed in her book. It seemed only a few moments later that Molly Weasley called everyone in for dinner, but when Hermione looked up from her beloved pages, the sky was close to setting. She realized then that she had been reading much longer than she had anticipated. Annoyed that she was being interrupted in her chapter, Hermione stuck her bookmark between the pages and trudged inside.

* * *

Dinner was loud, obnoxious, and full of fun. Everyone was gathered around the table in the kitchen, squished in tightly next to their neighbors. Hermione sucked in a breath as Ron's elbow caught her ribs, but she didn't even have enough energy to snap at him. "Ow," she muttered, but above the din of the chatter, she could barely even hear her own voice.

"Pass the potatoes," Harry requested, and Hermione had half a mind to levitate the vegetable right into his face. With great restraint, she dutifully passed the bowl to him and watched as he scooped out some of the fluffy potatoes onto his plate.

When she looked up from Harry's activities, she found George watching her silently from across the table. When she raised an eyebrow testily, he only smiled and shook his head. _"Good choice,"_ she thought, and turned back to her own dinner.

When Ron started shoveling food into his mouth and talking at the same time, Hermione pushed her chair back and left the table, brushing crumbs off her lap from Ron's full-mouth chattering. She _accio_'d her book and left through the front door.

* * *

"Hey, Hermione," someone said later, again interrupting her in her reading time. She looked up from where she was seated on the bottom step of the porch and saw George leaning against the wall, smiling at her.

"Hi," she responded.

George looked slightly uncomfortable as he eyed the stairs that Hermione sat on. "Can I talk to you?" he asked her.

Hermione looked around, expecting George to be drawing her attention while Fred snuck up on her with a prank. "Where's Fred?" she asked distrustfully.

George actually grinned and looked a little relieved. "He's not here, Granger," he told her. "And I'm not playing a prank on you. I just want to sit and talk to you for a moment." He shrugged and said, "Fred and I actually have a bit of a business proposition for you."

Hermione looked up, startled. "Me?" she asked.

George grinned. "Yeah, you," he said with a nod.

Hermione patted the spot on the porch step next to her. "I'm listening," she said carefully.

George sat down next to her, his legs stretching out much further than hers, and he leaned back to look up at the sky. "We need some help," he began.

Hermione snorted. "Well spotted," she teased him.

He sat up, stunned for a moment, and then he laughed. "Good grief!" he exclaimed. "Hermione Granger actually teased me!" He feigned shock and clutched at his chest while she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Seriously," she told him, tapping her fingers against her knee curiously.

He nodded, and continued on with his train of thought. "What I meant was that Fred and I need some help around the shop. Verity's been a brilliant helper, but she's getting married and moving away, and we really need some help." He held up a hand when he noticed that she wanted to speak. "We know that you've never liked our products very much, but we hoped that you would help us because you're so brilliant."

The tone in his voice, the way he let the sentence hang, made Hermione prompt, "And?"

George shrugged. "And we were hoping to help you out since the war's over and work's rather difficult to find." He quickly added, "It's not charity! It's just that we love you like a sister, and we want to help you in return for you helping us."

Hermione sat for a while, weighing all the details of the offer and examining every aspect before she nodded slowly. "Against my better judgment," she told him, watching his face light up, "I'll do it."

"Great! Thanks, Hermione!" George said, leaping up and scrambling up the stairs, no doubt to go tell Fred. "Oh!" he said as he seemed to remember something and turned around. "Two things," he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You're pushing your luck, George," she teased him threateningly.

He grinned at her and said, "One, we have a spare room for you to use at our flat, so you don't have to go home all the time." He smiled kindly at her, not patronizing or condescending her as he said, "It might cut down on your expenses."

Hermione nodded, acknowledging the truth and practicality in his statement.

"Second," George added as he opened the door to the Burrow, "Fred wasn't meaning to make fun of you earlier. We were both pretty worried about you."

Hermione nodded, feeling silly for holding a stupid grudge all through dinner. "I know," she told him truthfully.

George then made a face and said, "We'll see you Monday morning. Now, I have to get back to the flat and listen to Fred and his girlfriend."

His statement startled Hermione for a moment. She hadn't known that Fred had a girlfriend. "Oh," she said, feeling awkward. Why did George not like Fred's girlfriend? Did Fred not take into consideration the fact that his own twin did not approve of the match?

"Yeah, oh," George said, making another face and then winking at her. "See you later, Hermione." And then he was gone, apparating back to the flat.

The flat with Fred and Fred's girlfriend.


	2. Confused Emotions

**A/N: Thanks for all your awesome reviews! Enjoy!**

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All through the night, Hermione fretted and worried about her decision. Had she made the right choice by agreeing to go into business with the Weasley twins? Was that really the smartest idea? Surely she would be pranked constantly as a way to "test" their new products. Well, she would put a stop to _that_ before it started. The first sign of a prank, and she would leave.

Hermione rolled over again, sighing into her pillow. Why could she not get to sleep? She realized that she was worried about her role with the twins, but that shouldn't keep her up at night. She figured that she could keep them in line.

Girlfriend.

That was it! It was the idea that Fred had a girlfriend that kept nagging her. She flopped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Why should that thought keep her awake and so restless? Was it perhaps the strange way George had delivered the news? She certainly didn't care for Fred in _that_ way.

"Ugh!" she moaned, and practically threw herself out of bed. Perhaps if she went and drank a glass of water, she would feel better. She needed something to sooth her overloaded mind.

Softly, so as not to wake up Ginny, Hermione slipped out of the room and made her way down the steps into the kitchen, sighing with relief when nothing stirred in the house. _"I'm getting stealthier,"_ she thought with a grin, remembering a time when Ron had so eloquently compared her footsteps to that of an elephant.

She stared out the window for a moment, relishing the dark night and the calmness it emulated. If only she could find that same calmness in her own life. Then, maybe, she could get to sleep! Her hands ran over the countertop idly, and she was surprised to find herself wondering what Fred and George were doing.

"Hey, Granger."

Hermione squeaked and whirled around, only to find one of the objects of her sleeplessness sitting at the kitchen table, watching her. "Fred!" she gasped, putting a hand over her heart. "You scared me!" Guilt blushed her face and she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Fred raised an eyebrow and a smirk quirked the corner of his lips. "Last time I checked, this was _my_ home," he teased her. When she opened her mouth to retort, he went on, cutting her off. "Actually, I'm here for some time alone. Sorry I scared you."

To Hermione, suddenly overwhelmed with thoughts of Fred, and a few thoughts of George, she felt that this was a polite dismissal, and turned to leave. "Well then, goodnight," she said softly, heading for the door.

"You don't have to leave, you know," Fred told her just before she left the room.

Hermione turned and glanced at him carefully. "I don't want to disturb your alone time," she told him honestly.

Fred waved a hand at her. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "You're not bothering me." He smiled at her and motioned to the chair across from him at the table. "Actually, Hermione, I quite enjoy your company."

Not quite sure what to say to that, Hermione stood in the doorway, feeling awkward. She blinked a few times, and saw a small smile spread across Fred's face as he watched her confusion. "Um," she began, more to collect her thoughts than to actually say anything.

Fred's grin grew wider. "My my," he murmured. "The great Hermione Granger at a loss from words." He winked at her. "This chair's dying for your attention," he told her, nodding to the chair across from him again.

Carefully, Hermione stepped back into the room and pulled out the chair, aware that Fred's eyes were constantly on her. Blushing, though not really sure _why_ she was doing so, Hermione occupied herself by examining the table in front of her. She ran her fingers over the knots and grooves of the wood, trying to formulate a topic of conversation that would be safe. After all, she and Fred seemed to be on dangerous ground now. When had talking with Fred become so hard?

"How's your hand?"

Hermione's head came up and she looked at Fred, startled that he had come up with a topic before she had. She found him leaning back in his chair, looking completely comfortable as he watched her nervous fidgeting. "It's fine," she said, bringing her hand up to examine it again. There were no red marks, and no bruising, so she simply shrugged and showed him her palm.

Instead of nodding, like she had expected him to do, Fred reached across the table and took her hand, examining it carefully. Hermione shivered when Fred ran one finger over her palm. He must have felt the tremor because he cocked an eyebrow at her when he looked up. "Tender?" he asked.

Hermione was scrambling for something to say, and she shook her head. "N-no," she stuttered. "It just tickles."

"Oh," Fred said, and let go of her hand. There was an odd tone in his voice, something that Hermione could not at all pinpoint. He decided to change the subject and asked, "So what brings you down here on this fine evening?"

Hermione shrugged, back to studying the table. "Couldn't sleep," she replied truthfully. "Too much on my mind."

Fred nodded. "I hear you're coming to work for us the day after, well, this morning." He grinned, and then frowned slightly. "But that shouldn't cause you too much anxiety, should it? We're not that bad, are we?" When Hermione shook her head, he went on, "So something else must be wrong. Care to share?"

Hermione shook her head again. "Not really," she told him. And really, what could she say? _"Fred, for some odd reason, I'm having very strange thoughts about you and the fact that you have a girlfriend. Care to tell me why that is?"_ Oh yes, that would go over splendidly.

Fred, surprised at her unwillingness to spill her problems to him, told her seriously, "I might be able to help."

She started to say no again, but then a thought popped into her mind. Now that Fred was interested, he would not let this go. Also, Fred didn't know that she knew about his girlfriend. "It's this guy," she started, and Fred sat back with a gleeful expression of triumph. "I don't like him," she warned him severely, and the grin only grew wider.

"Uh huh," Fred said, unconvinced. "Sure. Go on."

Hermione scowled, but then did as he asked. "I just don't understand it," she confessed. "I don't have feelings for him, but ever since I found out that he had a girlfriend, it's been bothering me."

She expected him to laugh, but he only asked seriously, "Is that what kept you up tonight?"

She nodded, and then ducked her head. "It's stupid, I know," she muttered, suddenly wondering what on earth had possessed her to admit that she had a problem with Fred and his girlfriend _to_ Fred.

Fred leaned over and placed his hand on her arm. "No one's feelings are ever stupid," he told her seriously. "I'd say that you may not have thought so, but deep down inside, you might actually like this guy."

"But I don't!" Hermione protested, feeling her face flame with embarrassment.

Fred grinned and pushed away his chair. "Yet," he told her. He began to leave the table. "I have to get back, but it was nice talking to you, Hermione. I hope everything works out with you and that boy." He smiled and touched her cheek for a moment. "He'd be a lucky guy."

The frank kindness of the statement, along with the touch of Fred's hand on her cheek, only confused Hermione more, but she nodded and smiled. "Yeah," she told him noncommittally.

Fred stepped towards the fireplace and turned to smile once more at her. "See you later tonight for dinner."

She nodded, and then he was gone, leaving her alone in the kitchen, her water long forgotten, with her emotions more confused than ever.

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**A/N: Hope you liked this! Please keep the reviews coming! They mean a lot to me! :D**


	3. Meet the Girlfriend

**A/N: Thank you so much to all my reviewers. For some reason, my alerts aren't working, so if you didn't get a thank you from me, I apologize. Thank you, and I'll try to get back to you as soon as these alerts are fixed!!**

* * *

Hermione managed to get through the day, and even managed to drag her attention away from Fred and George, both dateless, as they sat across from her at the table. She kept her gaze firmly fixated on her plate, and only looked up when someone talked to her directly. "Sorry?" she said, when she realized that George was waiting for a response to a question she had not heard.

"I asked if you were getting ready for tomorrow," he told her.

She nodded, and then said, "I have my trunks all packed, and the Ministry bought my house, so I think everything's in order."

George smiled at her. "Great. Fred and I've set up your room, moved some furniture and stuff in there, so everything should be ready to go."

Fred nodded. "You might want to come a little early," he suggested. "We'd like-"

"-to show you around-"

"-before you get to work."

Hermione turned from one twin to the other as they spoke, and grinned. She loved that about them. Wait, when did she _love_ anything about Fred and George? "Perfect," she told them, trying to cover up her embarrassment once again.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" George asked, looking slightly concerned. "You look-"

"-nervous, and we-"

"-haven't even-"

"-pranked you…yet."

Now it was starting to get annoying. Or perhaps Hermione was just annoyed because now everyone at the table was examining her closely, trying to discover the source of her discomfort. "I'm fine," she told them curtly. "Just a little tired."

Fred grinned. "Didn't get much sleep last night?" he asked sweetly.

Hermione stiffened. If Fred made too big a deal out of this, George would be bound to ask him, and Fred (being Fred) would share their late night conversation with his brother. George, being the smart wizard that he was, would put the pieces together and realize that Hermione had been talking about Fred all along. The humiliation and teasing would probably never end.

"I got plenty of sleep, thank you," she told him. "And you?"

"Plenty as well," Fred told her with another smirk before turning back to his dinner.

George looked from Fred to Hermione and back again, but didn't comment. Instead, he turned to Charlie and began discussing dragons. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. For now, she was safe. But, would she be able to keep the truth from both boys when she worked and lived with them? She honestly didn't know.

* * *

"Morning, Hermione!" was the first thing Hermione heard the next morning when she flooed over to the flat at Diagon Alley. The twins, it seemed, were waiting for her, because she stepped right out of the fireplace and into their arms. "We're so happy to see you!" they chorused.

Hermione looked at them suspiciously. "Why?" she asked. "What's gone wrong?"

The twins smirked and then feigned disappointment. "Do you really think that that's all we think about when it comes to you? Having someone to clean up our messes?" George asked. When Hermione shot him a look, he tapped his fingers against his chin. "Well, now that you mention it…" he trailed off teasingly.

Fred laughed and slung an arm around Hermione's shoulders, which surprised her, and he suggested, "How about we show you to your room, and _then_ you can clean up our mess for us?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine," she sighed, knowing that they were only teasing her.

"Right this way, darling," George said with a wink, slinging his arm around her waist. Together, the twins guided Hermione to the back of the flat, and stopped in front of a plain white door. "Go ahead," they said together. "We hope you like it!"

Hermione carefully pushed open the door, worried that something might jump out at her, but instead, she was met with a cozy room in subtle greens and browns that gave the room a rich, homey feeling. A bookcase covered an entire wall, and the shelves were bare, except for one rather large book occupying the shelves. Hermione raised her eyebrows and moved to inspect the lone article of paper and ink.

When she read the title, she turned to the twins, who were watching her with grins on their faces. "_Hogwarts: A History Special Edition_?" she asked in a breathless voice.

Fred smiled at her and answered, "Consider it a room-warming gift," he said with a wink.

"You can put your stuff on the bed," George said, motioning to the twin sized bed in the corner. "We have a lot to be done today."

"I'm ready," Hermione told him.

* * *

For the next six hours, Hermione helped the twins in whatever ways she could. She could see now why they desperately needed help in the shop. Verity had done countless odd jobs around the store, leaving the twins to either invent, or to help customers. Now, that job was passed on to Hermione.

She wasn't fond of cleaning by any stretch of the imagination, but she did enjoy dusting the shelves here, ringing up totals, and helping customers when the twins were busy. Several times, she caught the thankful glances of the twins when she glided forward to help a particularly difficult guest.

Hermione had taken a small lunch break with George, since Fred was working the counter still, and she found herself enjoying his company. When the lunch hour was over, half of her lunch was left uneaten because she had spent most of her time chatting away.

* * *

Fred had handed her a rather heavy box, requesting that she stock an empty shelf with the gadgets inside, and she had just knelt down on her hands and knees to start sifting through the materials when the door opened. Not even having worked there a day, Hermione had already learned not to look up each time the bell to the shop rang. If she did, she'd never get anything done.

And so, she kept her head down, wiping her dust-irritated nose with the back of one hand. She had just started to lift some of the gadgets out of the box when a pair of dragon hide high-heeled boots appeared in her downward vision. She thought that it might be someone just perusing, so she kept working, but when one dragon hide boot started tapping impatiently, she looked up.

Standing in front of her was a tall, thin, gorgeous brunette with dark eyes and a mouth that was puckered at the moment in distaste. Hermione was immediately self-conscious of the fact that her curly hair had long escaped its ribbon, her clothes were covered in dust, and she probably had a smudge on her nose from where she had just wiped it. Everything about her and this woman were total opposites.

"I'm looking for Fred," she said, and her voice struck an incredibly annoying tone to Hermione's ears.

"I'm not sure where he is," Hermione told her truthfully, secretly not wanting to find out any time soon.

A movement caught her eye, and she turned, to find Fred walking out of the back storeroom. "Gina!" he called happily, moving around the counter to bring the brunette in for a soft kiss. He turned to Hermione, who had frozen where she was, and smiled down at her.

"Gina, this is the amazing Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my girlfriend."

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**A/N: For those of you that were asking about the girlfriend, there you go! Hope you enjoyed, and please, please, please review!! :D**


	4. George Explains

**A/N: Thank you all for your amazing reviews!! :D**

* * *

How does one respond when they are expected to be happy, but are actually screaming on the inside? Hermione didn't know. Everything about this girl repulsed her, and she had no idea why. Was it the shoes? Those gaudy, _Slytherin_ green boots? No, nothing that petty had ever affected her before. Was it perhaps the almost permanent sneer that the girl wore across her face as she looked down at Hermione? Whatever it was, Hermione knew that she needed to pull herself together.

She stood, wiping her hands on the apron she wore before holding out her hand to Fred's girlfriend. "Hi," she said in as congenial a tone as she could. "It's so nice to meet you." _"Liar, Liar, pants on fire!"_

Gina stared at Hermione's hand for a moment and then gave her best fake smile. "Charmed," she drawled, never shaking the hand offered to her.

Hermione saw Fred frown for a moment, and then he said nervously, "Perhaps we should get going, Gina. Hermione has lots of work to do."

"Mm," was Gina's attempt at acting noncommittal.

As Fred led Gina to the front of the shop, he looked back at Hermione and shrugged, appearing confused. "Thanks again for your help, Hermione," he called to her. "See you later!"

Hermione stared as the couple disappeared out the front door of the shop, the box in front of her long forgotten. She couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Fred, calm, confident, kind Fred Weasley had hooked up with…that person. Why?

"So you've met the…witch," George said, coughing conveniently as he came out of the back room. He pretended to peek around the corner. "She _is_ gone, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's gone."

George hopped up onto the counter as he watched Hermione return to setting the gadgets on the proper shelves. "So what do you think of her?" he asked.

"Why should my opinion matter?" Hermione asked. _"I think she's a horrible, stuck up person that has no right dating Fred."_

George smiled at her and responded, "You're our friend, Hermione. I greatly value your opinion."

"Just you?" Hermione asked softly, feeling her heart sink once more into her stomach.

George shrugged. "I can't really speak for Fred anymore," he told her honestly. "I used to, but I'm not so sure anymore." He glanced over at where Hermione was stocking shelves and suggested, "Why don't you take a break?"

Hermione glanced around at the empty store, and realized that George was grasping at a rare opportunity to speak to her privately. Who knew how long they had before the next rush of people swarmed in? "Sure," she said, standing once more and wiping her hands again on her apron.

George slid over on the counter so that she could sit next to him, and once she was settled, he said, "Now you see why I've been keeping Fred from bringing her to the Burrow."

Hermione looked up, actually startled. "You've been keeping Gina from the Burrow?" she asked. "Do Molly and Arthur know about her?"

George shook his head, looking almost bashful. "No, they don't. I've been giving Fred all kinds of excuses, but really, the truth is that I don't want her anywhere near my family." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I sincerely wish that she'd never come into the shop."

"Is that where Fred met her?"

George nodded. "She came in one day, and asked Fred for some help. Said she needed his advice on pranking her younger brother." He grinned ruefully. "And Fred wasn't about to pass up a pretty, prankster of a girl. He asked her out that day, and they started dating soon after that." George shrugged and added, "When she first came around here, she wasn't all that bad, but her father made a fortune betting on the Quidditch World Cup, and now she struts around like a peacock."

"Why doesn't Fred break up with her?" Hermione asked, feeling more and more resentment filling her heart at George's tale.

"That's the thing," George said, passing another hand through his hair. "He doesn't see it. In his eyes, she's the prettiest witch that ever walked the earth."

Hermione bit her lip, staring at the floor by her feet. What was this girl doing to Fred? "Is there nothing we can do?" she asked, before realizing that she had actually spoken aloud.

She glanced hastily at George, but he was deep in thought. "We could prank her," he suggested, his eyes lighting up with possibilities that Hermione didn't want to think about.

"We can't kill her," she warned him.

He made a face. "Darn." He winked at her to show that he was only teasing, and then said, "Perhaps we could only hex her." He tapped a finger against his chin. "We could prank her, and someone work the hex into the prank…" he trailed off thoughtfully.

Hermione rolled her eyes, unwilling to admit just how tempting the idea sounded to her. "Oh yeah. She'd have _no_ idea where that came from," she assured him sarcastically.

George shrugged. "You're right, of course," he told her with a smile, "but I'd still love to try it sometime. Maybe she'll be so mad at me that she'll break up with Fred!" When he saw Hermione's hesitant expression, he nodded again. "Probably not," he admitted.

Together, they sat on the counter in silence for a while, until a few customers came in. George hopped down and immediately began helping them, flashing them the trademark Weasley smirk as though he didn't have a care in the world. An outsider would never guess that George was plotting and planning against his twin brother's girlfriend.

* * *

Hermione went back to stocking the shelves and helping the occasional customer. It was only when the door opened an hour later and Fred ran in that she stopped her work and turned to face him. "Hi, Fred," she greeted, gladder than she would have verbally admitted that Gina was nowhere to be seen.

He smiled back and strode confidently towards her. "Hey, Hermione." He bent down on one knee in front of her and took her small hand in his, saying, "Would you, the great Hermione Granger, accompany me to dinner in two hours?" He batted his eyelashes, not noticing Hermione's startled expression. "It would mean ever so much to me."

George, having heard his brother's voice, came out of the back room and grinned at the sight of his twin on one knee. "Proposing already, Gred?" he asked teasingly, shaking his head. "I don't know. It's awfully soon."

Fred laughed and bounded over to sling an arm around George's shoulders. "Not to her," he said excitedly, and both George's and Hermione's mouths dropped open. Fred quickly added, "And not just yet to Gina, either. I'm just extending her invitation for dinner. Granger was just about to accept-" here he winked at Hermione- "And so were you when you walked in here."

George shot Hermione a pained glance and closed his eyes for a moment, obviously not looking forward to spending a night in Gina's company. Fred watched his twin, appearing slightly confused as to why George wasn't jumping at the chance, and then grinned broadly when George muttered, "What time?"

"Six o' clock," Fred told them both cheerfully, beginning to shoo them towards the flat. "I'll close up here while you guys go get ready." He smiled at them both and said, "Wear something formal. Apparently it's a nice restaurant." And then he was gone, hurrying back to the shop.

George rolled his eyes when they were alone and tried not to groan. "Are you sure we can't hex her, or _something_?" he pleaded.

Hermione just shrugged, knowing that no words could comfort George at the moment. Plus, she didn't want to lie. After all, hexing Gina would suit her just fine.

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**A/N: I hope that I'm fueling your dislike for Gina! Please review, and have an awesome New Year! :)**


	5. Dinner Torture

**A/N: Enjoy! :)**

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George and Hermione met up with Fred and Gina at a new, expensive restaurant in Diagon Alley two hours later, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Gina, however, fit right in with the pompous, overly done restaurant, and Fred's casual demeanor eased into the restaurant code of conduct just fine. Hermione couldn't stop fidgeting, especially since she had been seated next to Gina with the boys sitting across from them. An odd date arrangement, but it was Gina who had chosen their seats, so they had no choice but to obey. The girl seemed to be glaring daggers at her whenever Fred wasn't looking.

"So how's your joke shop coming?" Gina asked politely, actually speaking to George and not to Fred.

George seemed surprised, but quickly cleared his throat and answered, "Just fine, thank you. We're thinking about expanding the shop a bit."

"Really?" Gina asked, looking pleased over something. "Well, that's not what I heard from Fred."

George glanced at his twin, who looked uncomfortable, and said quietly, "Well, nothing's been solidified yet. We're still thinking about it."

Awkward silence reigned for a while until the waiter came and asked for their orders. Gina ordered for all of them since she was the only one that could actually pronounce the food names, and then sat back in her seat with a smug smile on her face. She knew that she was good. She knew that she was better.

Fred cleared his throat once the waiter left. "Would you ladies excuse us for a moment?" he asked.

Gina nodded. "Hurry back," she told him sweetly.

* * *

Fred and George apparated right into the men's bathroom, thankful that they were alone. Fred didn't turn around for a moment, and when he did, he appeared embarrassed, an expression that George was not used to seeing on his brother's face. "I'm sorry," he told George.

George shrugged. "It's no big deal," he said casually. "If you don't want to expand the shop, that's fine." Inside, his stomach was twisting with worry, and his heart was starting to hurt. For years, they had discussed expansion. They had lain next to each other so many times, whispering into the night their hopes and dreams for their joke shop, and now some witch was yanking those dreams away.

No!" Fred told him forcefully. "It's not that! I do want to extend the shop. Gina's got it wrong. We were talking about investing in Quidditch teams, and-"

"Quidditch teams?" George cried. "You want to use our saved money on Quidditch bets?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Just like her father," he said, disappointed.

Fred shook his head, looking hurt as well. "No! That's just the thing! Gina seemed to think I was actually interested in throwing my money away. I'm not, George. The money is going towards the shop. Always has, always will." He put a hand on his brother's arm. "Please don't worry about it."

George patted his brother on the back, feeling unconvinced inside. "Yeah," he said noncommittally, but was secretly glad that his brother still seemed in possession of his right mind. Gina hadn't completely brainwashed him…yet.

Fred nodded towards the dining room. "We should probably get back," he said, and George could almost detect a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Yeah," he said again.

* * *

Gina sighed. "That joke shop of theirs is just that, a joke."

Hermione's eyes widened over the rim of her water glass and she almost choked. "Th-that's not true!" she gasped out, appalled.

Gina waved a hand dismissively. "You're just saying that because you want to keep your job," she stated rudely. "Don't worry. I won't tell."

Hermione felt anger boiling up inside of her and she knew that her eyes were flashing with distaste as she said icily, "That's not true either. My work at the shop has nothing to do with the fact that I believe that the twin's work is extraordinary magic."

A crack broke the new silence at the table, and the twins apparated back into their seats. "What's extraordinary magic?" they asked simultaneously, ignoring the stares between Gina and Hermione.

Gina opened her mouth to speak, but Hermione was worried that something rude would come out, so she spoke up quickly, "Your Daydream Charms. I was just telling Gina that the charms are absolute brilliance."

Fred looked surprised at her enthusiasm, but George just grinned, knowing full well what Hermione was doing. "Yeah, they are," he said proudly. "We'll have to let you try one." Then, he continued to keep up a steady stream of chatter until dinner was served.

* * *

Hermione felt trapped in her seat. She was pinned against the wall, with Gina seated next to her, blocking her escape. She bent over her prime rib-like meal and was just about to take a bite when she felt something sliding up her leg seductively. She coughed in surprise and watched Fred turn bright red. "Sorry," he muttered, returned studiously to his dinner.

"What?" Gina asked, confused.

"Nothing," Fred said calmly.

"Nothing," Hermione answered, but her voice waivered slightly as she spoke.

Hermione one again turned back to her plate, only to jump slightly when another foot slid up her other leg. She immediately glared at Fred, thinking that he had once again meant to play this little game with Gina, but she found that he wasn't even looking at her. She turned her head and found George, seated across from her, trying not to laugh. She lightly kicked his shin, and he winked at her cheerfully.

Though she knew that there were no feelings behind the game on either end other than friendship, she enjoyed the attention that George paid to her during the torturous evening. She no longer felt so left out and alone.

At the very end of the night, when Gina finally slid out of her seat, allowing Hermione to scramble out after her, Gina smiled sweetly and asked, "Dessert, anyone?"

George and Hermione quickly cried, "No!"

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**A/N: Hope this lived up to your expectations! Please review, and I hope you liked the casual flirting! ;)**


	6. Protecting Hermione

**A/N: Enjoy!!**

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Fred was seated at the counter in the store when an owl flew through the window, alighting gracefully on the counter. "Hi there," Fred said as the owl preened in front of him. He noticed the piece of parchment tied to its leg with a binding charm and guessed that it was another customer placing an order. "Thank you," he told the bird, but it didn't move, so Fred guessed that it needed a response.

He unrolled the page and stared, surprised to find a note from the Ministry, and not an order.

_Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley,_

_We at the Ministry have recently become aware that Miss Hermione Granger is under your employment. We congratulate you both for having such a wonderful employee at your fingertips, but we would also like to give you a word of caution._

_We believe that Miss Granger, as well as many Muggle-borns like herself, are in danger. Ever since the war, there has been an undercurrent of people sent out by the last of You-Know-Who's followers. Their one mission is to kill any and all Muggle-borns one by one. Please watch out for Miss Granger, but do not inform her of the danger. We do not wish to cause her undue stress._

_Sincerely,_

_The Ministry of Magic_

Fred blinked, reread the letter, and blinked again. The owl on his desk ruffled his wings, breaking Fred out of his shock. He hastily wrote the Ministry a note, thanking them and promising that he and George would take care of Hermione. After all, she was like a sister to them, right? He frowned once more because somehow, "sister" didn't sound right anymore.

He attached the parchment to the owl's leg and gave it a friendly pat, to which it snapped its beak in Fred's direction. Apparently it didn't like friendly pats. It stretched its wings out and jumped towards the open window, managing to catch the side of Fred's head with one wing. Fred grinned as he watched the owl fly off. It reminded him of Hermione.

Hermione.

He hopped down from his stool and flippantly charmed the register to ding if and when a customer came into the shop. Then, he hurried off to find George and tell him the news. He found George perched on another stool in the back room, working.

"Hey, George?" Fred called.

George looked up, and Fred could now see that he was working on a love potion. "Yeah?" he asked calmly, the vial hanging from his fingertips as he turned to address his brother.

Fred scowled and eyed his twin's flippant handling of the vial. "Don't you dare drop that in here," he warned.

George laughed. "Why?" he asked. "Afraid that your secret feelings for me will come out?"

Fred smirked. "Nope. I was just thinking of _your_ secret feelings. You know you've loved me for years."

George shook his head and, laughing, set the vial safely on the workbench. "Right," he said sarcastically. "Sorry, Freddie, but I'm afraid my emotions for you are only twin-deep." He winked and wiped his hands on his pants. "What's up?"

Fred smiled and grabbed a stool from a nearby bench, pulling in up to his brother so that he could sit down. "Just got a letter from the Ministry," he began.

"Fred!" George gasped. "I told you that you shouldn't have set off that-"

Fred waved his comment off. "It was about _that_," he told his brother, instantly noticing the relieved expression on George's face. "I told you, Forge, we won't get caught. Plus, it was so fun to see those faces!"

Fred laughed, and George rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help grinning. "True," he admitted, thinking back over the prank they had pulled on a few Ministry heads. "But, we could've also been in major trouble."

Fred just shrugged, unconcerned. "Anyways, the Ministry wrote about Hermione."

George frowned. "What about Hermione?"

And so Fred told George about everything the letter had said. "We need to keep an eye on her," he finished. "We have to make sure that she's safe."

"Of course!" said George, scoffing as though Fred had just suggested the simplest thing in the world.

"It shouldn't be hard to do," Fred said, almost to himself. "She's living here, so she's practically like family."

George nodded, and then thought of something. "Where _is_ Hermione?"

Fred jerked his head towards the stairs leading up to the flat. "I gave her part of the day to settle in and get all of her clothes and things arranged," he explained.

The sound of breaking glass met their ears, shattering the quiet of the shop. Fred and George both jumped up, imagining that Death Eaters were coming through the windows. Without any thought of apparating, they tore up the steps to the flat and ran towards Hermione's room. "Hermione! Hermoine!" they yelled.

There was no answer, and Fred plowed through the door, nearly yanking it off its hinges as he ran in, only to stop so suddenly that George ran into him. There sat Hermione on the floor, clutching her wrist. Blood rand down her pale skin, dripping off her fingertips and onto the floor.

Fred felt his heart sputter when he noticed the puddle of blood that had already accumulated in the short period of time it had taken them to run up to her. He leapt forward, wand out, to heal her, and stopped short once again, seeing for the first time what had happened.

She had obviously been cleaning her new room. But now, the clean floor had shards of sharp glass scattered over it. Near Hermione's wrist was a large piece of what looked to have been a dish, and the rim was stained with blood. Fred quickly picked his way through the glass, George right behind him, and fell to his knees in front of Hermione.

"Hermione, can you hear me?" he asked her, already eyeing her wrist to see how bad the damage was. If she had nicked an artery, they were in trouble.

She nodded. "Yes." The word came out warbled, but it was there, and Fred was thankful.

George pulled out his wand and vanished the glass around them, creating more space for Fred to work. He leaned anxiously over Fred's shoulder and asked, "How bad is it?"

Fred, who had pried Hermione's bloody fingers off her wrist, could now see that she had not severed the artery. She had barely missed it. With careful concentration, he healed the wound as best as he could, and then waited to see how Hermione would feel. "How do you feel?" he asked her anxiously.

She appeared a bit woozy, probably from loss of blood, but she nodded and answered, "Fine. It wasn't a big deal. I accidentally knocked the bowl over and I tried to pick up the pieces and cut myself." Her face was white with fright, and she stared up at Fred.

He was caught up for a moment by her large brown eyes, so close to his own, and he found himself leaning forward slightly before he caught himself. "You scared us," he said hoarsely.

"Sorry," Hermione apologized, glancing quickly at George, who was watching this exchange with sudden interest.

Fred stared at her for a moment more, unable to pull away, unable to lean closer. Finally, it was Hermione that broke the spell by pulling her hand away. "Thank you, both of you," she said, painstakingly addressing George this time.

He looked about ready to burst from some new knowledge, but he nodded and smiled at her. "We can't leave you for a moment."

Hermione laughed. "Guess not," she admitted.

George patted Fred gently on the back. "Come on, Fred. Let's give Hermione some time to rest. You," he told Hermione teasingly, "into bed for a while. You lost a bit of blood."

Fred stood, unable to take his eyes off of Hermione. "Yeah," he said softly, and then turned towards the door to leave her to changing her bloody clothes.

As he and George walked silently down the hall, all Fred could think of was the blood he had seen, and how scared he had been when he had seen it. Hermione. The blood. She could have died if the glass had cut her wrist an inch to the left.

The thought of Hermione dying, of not being able to save her, made acid churn in Fred's stomach. Hermione was special to him. He had to take care of her. He loved her.

Fred paused midstep, startled that this admission had popped into his thoughts. He loved her? He shook his head and smiled. Of course he loved her. She was like his little sister. That was why he loved her.

He nodded, satisfied with his thoughts. That was why he had been so frightened. She was like his sister…right?

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**A/N: And I leave you there with Fred's thoughts. Thank you all so much for your alerts and reviews! PLEASE keep it up!!**


	7. Fancying Hermione

**A/N: Enjoy! ;)**

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George was grinning. George was grinning at him knowingly. This grinning business had been going on for _two whole days_. Fred looked up from his piece of parchment, only to find George _still_ grinning at him. He sighed and laid the quill down. "Is there something I can help you with, Georgie?" he asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt.

George shook his head. "Nope," he said cheerfully, still grinning idiotically.

Fred sighed again. "Then would you please stop grinning at me? Did you prank me or something?" He looked around. "If you did, you're losing your touch, brother. Nothing's happened."

"Yet," George pointed out, and then laughed at Fred's startled expression. Obviously Fred hadn't been expecting George to have actually pranked him. He stood and crossed the short distance in the store room to perch himself on the table where Fred was working. "I didn't prank you, _Freddie_," he teased.

"Well then why do you keep grinning at me?" Fred asked, confused. "Do I have something on my face?" He wiped his hand over his face just in case, causing George's grin to grow wider.

"Well, yes," he said gravelly, and drew his finger all around his own face. "This right here looks kinda funny."

Fred snorted at his twin's joke. "Maybe on you," he shot back, "but on me, it's the epitome of handsomeness."

George grinned. "Touché," he responded.

Fred nodded, accepting his brother's defeat, and then said, "But seriously, why are you constantly looking at me?"

George shrugged, pretending nonchalance, and then said, "I'm just waiting for you to figure it out."

Fred felt confused. He knew he was smart, and yet he couldn't think of anything that needed figuring at the moment. "Figure what out?"

George rolled his eyes. "Figure out that you fancy Hermione." The way he said it made it sound as if it was the simplest idea in the world.

Fred, for one, was speechless. When he finally stopped gaping at George, all he could manage was, "Wh-what?"

George rolled his eyes again, irritated. "Hermione Granger. The girl upstairs. You know, the one who-"

"Yes, yes, I know who Hermione is," Fred said impatiently, blushing. "I meant what are you talking about?"

George sighed. "You're starting to fancy Hermione. Don't deny it. I saw the way you looked at her after she'd cut herself, and I saw the way she looked at you."

Fred thought back to that day, the day that he had been so afraid that she was going to bleed out on the floor, and shook his head. "I don't fancy her, George. I was just worried about her. So were you," he pointed out. "She's like a sister to us."

"Maybe to me," George admitted, "but not to you. You and I both know that we've never run that quickly to Ginny if she got hurt. And the look on your face when you saw her on the floor, that wasn't brotherly love and concern," he concluded with a shake of his head.

Fred pushed away his chair and stood. "I don't fancy her," he reiterated again, glaring at his brother. "Plus, I happen to have a girlfriend."

George watched as his brother strode from the room, and he shook his head one more time, feeling slightly dejected. He knew what he had seen, and he had hoped that if he brought it to his brother's attention, Fred might understand as well and leave Gina. However, he seemed to be wrong. "Shoot," he muttered as he turned back to the project he was currently working on.

* * *

Fred, meanwhile, had started to enter the shop, but had then slipped into a convenient shadow, watching as the object of his jumbled affections waited on customers. His eyes roved her face as she smiled and made conversation with the different customers, smiling and helping them with an ease that Verity had strived to find when she had first started working. He couldn't help but smile when Hermione handed a little boy his purchase, reaching down and ruffling his hair fondly and telling him not to get caught.

When the customers left and the store was empty, Fred stepped out of his observation spot and grinned. "Don't get caught?" he asked, mimicking her admonitions to the boy. Hermione shrugged, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

"You and I both know that nothing I say will make him decide not to pull that prank," she told Fred, flipping her hair over her shoulder. He was momentarily distracted by that movement, and almost missed the words that came next. "So if I can't stop him, I might as well warn him not to get caught."

"An excellent decision," Fred told her with a nod and a smirk. "George and I will convert you yet."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "I'm still going to study up to become a mediwitch at St Mungo's," she warned him. "I'm not going to stick around forever and ever."

For whatever reason, this simple disclaimer struck Fred hard, and he actually took a step back. "Oh," he said flatly. "Of course."

Hermione looked up at him, her hair curly and glowing in the firelight of the late afternoon, and quickly added, "But not for a while." She looked around, but her eyes landed back on Fred as she said, "I very much like it here."

"We like having you," Fred said softly, for the first time in his life feeling awkward and unsure what to say to a girl.

Hermione blushed deeply and then whirled to pick up a roll of parchment. "Yes, well," she said, right before she cut her finger and yelped, "Ouch!"

The trickle of blood that pooled on the pad of her finger sent images of two days ago racing through Fred's mind and he leapt forward, wand outstretched to heal her, when she raised her other hand. "I'm fine," she told him, and then she did the one thing that made Fred's control snap.

She stuck her injured finger in her mouth.

Though the action itself was innocent enough, Fred's confused feelings sent his mind into overdrive and he slammed Hermione up against the wall behind her, letting his arm take the brunt of the force and not her body. Hermione's eyes flew opened wider and her finger slipped out of her mouth as she opened it in surprise. "Fred," she whispered.

And then he was lowering his mouth to hers, his eyes searching hers even as he pressed himself into her body. And there she was, tilting her chin up to meet his lips, her eyelashes flickering as she strove to keep her gaze fixed on him.

His mouth was inches from hers when the door opened, and in walked Gina.

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**A/N: I love it when control snaps, don't you? LOL! Yes, it's a cliffhanger, but please review and tell me whether you liked it or not. Hope you did!! :D**


	8. The Imperius Club

**A/N: And....Gina's reaction!! Enjoy!**

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Hermione's heart pounded as Gina glanced from Fred to her and back again. "I-I," she stuttered, feeling as though she had just committed some terrible crime. Gina was Fred's girlfriend! She, Hermione, wasn't allowed to go around kissing people's boyfriends!

"Gina," Fred said nervously. "I didn't know you were coming."

Gina snorted. "That's obvious." Her eyes narrowed at Hermione for a moment before she turned back to Fred. "I came over to get you and your brother to come with me to a wizarding club that just opened up. Please?"

Despite the dire situation Hermione had just found herself in, she couldn't help smiling at Gina's phrasing. One moment, the girl was demanding their presence, and then in the next she was attempting to cover up such demands by saying "please." It was almost laughable!

"Uh, sure," Fred said, but he didn't seem as excited as he probably should have.

Gina nodded towards the stairs. "You should probably go get dressed then," she told him. "It's a rather formal club." Fred turned for a moment and looked at Hermione, whose face was still flushed from the almost-kiss, and opened his mouth, probably to invite her along, but Gina once again spoke up. "I would invite you," she said, almost apologetically, "but I'm sure that being the hard worker you are, you have _something_ to do tonight." Her tone indicated that Hermione was not to argue.

"Right," Hermione said, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I have a bit of accounting that George asked me to do," she told Fred, inching her way past him and heading up the stairs. "I think I'll tackle that tonight instead of waiting for the morning. Goodnight, and have fun!" With that completely false admonition, Hermione bolted up the stairs, her embarrassment peaking at a whole new level.

She rushed past George in the flat, and he caught her by the elbow. "Whoa! Where are you going in such a rush?" he asked her, laughing at her frightened expression and embarrassed cheeks. "What, did Gina ask for a hug?" He laughed at his own joke, but then realized that Hermione was not laughing along. "Hermione, are you alright?"

Normally, Hermione would have kept anything that could possibly be used as blackmail by George to herself, but she was so embarrassed, and so unsure as to what to do, that she found her confession spilling out in a tumble of flustered words. "And she's making you go to a club," she gasped out to finish it off, "so you'd better get dressed."

George was trying to look supportive and not gleeful at her news, but then he frowned. "What about you?"

Hermione shrugged and walked past him down the hall. Just as she entered her room, she turned back to him and said, "I was uninvited."

* * *

Hermione's eyes hurt. She'd been staring at the same ledgers for over two hours, and it still hadn't balanced out. There was a large deficit of over five hundred galleons that had just disappeared. She chewed on her quill tip, ignoring the possibility of ink stains. How was this possible? It certainly wasn't her mathematic skills. She hadn't made a mistake.

The money was just gone.

She squeezed her eyes shut, as though she could possibly make the money reappear, but when she opened her eyes once more, the deficit was still there. Sighing, she pushed the ledgers away and stood, stretching her stiff muscles. She wouldn't tell the twins yet until she had concrete proof of when and where the money had gone missing. She would wait until she had evidence.

For now, she had to find something to do with her night. Balancing the ledgers had made her slightly irritated, and her mind immediately conjured up its sorest subject: Gina. What she wouldn't give to get back at that girl for "uninviting" her. Fred or no Fred.

And then it hit her. The club.

She moved towards her tiny closet, wondering what she could wear. She could transfigure a dress, but she didn't even know where to begin. As she idly thumbed through her clothes, a certain skirt caught her attention. It was a deep forest green and was tight-fitting until it dropped past her the middle of her thighs. With just a small spell, Hermione cinched the waistband up under her collarbone, charming it to stay there no matter what, and admired the new dress she had just discovered. After transfiguring a pair of flats into strappy heels and fixing her hair, Hermione smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She looked the part of an evening clubber.

Now, the only question was: Where had they gone? Gina had not mentioned a place, she had simply said- "That's it!" Hermione said aloud. There was only one wizarding club that had just opened in Diagon Alley, and that was the Imperius Club, touted for such good music and drinks that one seemed no longer in control of one's self. A smile appeared on Hermione's face and she quickly Apparated away.

* * *

The crowd was in full swing, short skirts and dresses twirling while dress pants and jeans brushed up against them. Hermione wound her way through the crowd, ignoring the stares she procured (if only they knew!), and headed towards the dance floor where she found George swaying with another witch. "Can I cut in?" she asked, winking at George.

He looked surprised at first, and then delighted to see her. "Of course!" he exclaimed, and then turned apologetically to the witch next to him. "Maybe later?" he said, trying to placate her. She, however, simply shrugged and waltzed away.

When George stretched out his hand, Hermione took a shy step back. "I didn't mean to actually dance with you," she told him bashfully, aware that he was eying her outfit now that she had his full attention. "I just wanted to be witty."

He laughed and took a step closer to her anyways. "Come on, Hermione," he murmured teasingly, eying her up and down. "You've got my attention." He gently pulled her towards him and grinned as the music changed to a head banging, eardrum splitting song. "Now dance with me."

Hermione shook her head, her cheeks flushing. "I don't know how," she told him.

She found herself rapidly scanning the room, wondering where Fred and Gina might be, and hoping that they were nowhere near her so that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of them. George, however, pulled her attention back to him as he placed his hands on her hips. "It's easy," he told her, speaking into her ear to be heard over the music.

Without giving her a chance to back out, George spun her around and then pulled her back towards his body, thankfully keeping the hand he had settled on her waist respectfully high, though his smirk was fixed in place. "Loosen up," he told her, and then began to dance to the music, manipulating her body so that soon, she was swaying with him.

Soon, a grin spread across her face and she began to enjoy herself, not having to constantly remind her feet to beware of George's toes. Her hips began to sway on their own, and George's hands relaxed against her hips. "See?" he teased when he saw the smile on her face.

She grinned and let him twirl her. And that was when she saw Fred. He was standing in the corner, watching her with a frown on his face. Gina was standing next to him, glaring at her as well, and Hermione's new confidence went out the window. Even as George pulled her up against his body, still smirking at her, she shook her head and stepped away from him slightly. "Your brother's watching," she told him.

Without looking up, George shrugged and pulled her back, but maintained a greater distance between them this time. "Let him watch," he whispered in her ear. He twirled her, spinning her back into his front. "Or better yet," he said in her other ear, "pretend it's Fred you're dancing with."

He twirled her again, so that she could glimpse his grin, and then splayed his hands along her back. "Our hands are the same."

He dipped her and pulled her up quickly so that she was forced to hang onto his shoulders. "We're the same height."

The music was starting to wind down, and George lowered his head so that he was closer to Hermione's height. "And our mouths…" he trailed off, appearing as though he was trying not to laugh, "well, let's just say that mine's better." And with that, he kissed her cheek softly as the music ended.

Hermione laughed and pushed his shoulder. He was such a flirt. "Perhaps," she told him, "but I don't really want to find out!"

George laughed and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, ignoring her remark. "Let's go tick off Gina." With a wink, he began to pull her through the crowd.

When they came up to where Fred and Gina were standing, Hermione felt her old shyness creeping up on her. With difficulty, she shoved it down and put on her most dazzling smile while pushing her hair out of her face. "Hi!" she said sweetly.

Gina produced something like a grimace and said, "I didn't know you were coming. I thought you had bookwork to do." The underlying question was simple: _"Why are you here ruining my night?"_

Hermione thought of all sorts of things she could say, but decided not to explain herself. Gina didn't deserve an explanation. She simply shrugged and smiled. "I changed my mind."

For a moment, the girls stared at each other, and then Gina relaxed into a faux smile. "I'm so glad," she said, and, perhaps it was Hermione's imagination, but she thought she could hear the sound of teeth grinding together.

She was saved from replying by Fred, who tensely asked, "George, can I talk to you for a sec?"

George nodded, squeezing Hermione's elbow encouragingly. "Sure."

Without another word, Fred roughly took George's arm and dragged him towards the bathrooms. "Ow, ow, OW!" George said pointedly as Fred pushed him into the empty room. "Seriously, Fred," he growled, rubbing his arm.

"Seriously, George," Fred mimicked, his own growl obviously much angrier and more annoyed.

George raised an eyebrow and then looked around. "Why does every conversation we have seem to end up in a bathroom?"

"They're convenient," Fred said tersely.

"Fine." George leaned against the sink and looked his brother straight in the eye. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Fred asked. "What's _up_? I'll tell you what's up! You're out there dancing around with Hermione as though she was some sort of loose girl!" He glared at his brother. "What happened to, 'She's like a sister to me, Fred.'" He mimicked his brother's voice, which sounded exactly like his own.

George grinned, knowing exactly where this was heading. His brother was jealous, and he didn't understand why he felt that way. "She _is_ like my sister," he insisted.

"Really? Well, I can sure as heck say that you'd never dance with Ginny like that in a million years!" Fred cried. He ran a hand through his hair, and George watched him for a moment, struck momentarily with surprise as he saw just how hard his brother was battling his emotions.

"Fred, it wasn't like we were grinding or anything," George told him. "We were just dancing, rather modestly, I would say. And if you don't want me to dance with her, fine. You dance with her." He started to move past Fred and couldn't help but say one more thing. "You can't fight what you feel, Fred."

With that, he brushed past his brother and slipped back out into the club to go rescue Hermione from Gina's manicured claws.

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**A/N: Wow! Over 2,000 words this time around! Thank you all so much for reading! Please review. Come on, I know there are 74 of you on story alert, so drop me a quick line! ;) Hope you liked the caual flirting and the inner struggles!!**


	9. Opposites Attract

**A/N: Enjoy!! :)**

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Hermione couldn't help but shift from one foot to the other as she stared out at the swaying couples, studiously keeping her gaze **off** of Gina. She knew by the pressure she felt in the back of her neck that said girl was probably glaring a very large hole through her brain, and if she turned, Gina would probably start glaring at the space right between her eyes.

"Fred's mine."

Hermione almost didn't hear those two possessive words over the beat of the music. However, she barely caught them and then found herself turning to look at Gina, who (as anticipated) started the glaring pattern all over again. "Excuse me?" she asked, just to clarify.

Gina took a step towards her, and Hermione was surprised to discover just how threatening such a step could be. "I said, Fred's mine," she repeated icily.

Hermione nodded, confused. "Of course he is." This was turning out to be just as confusing as some of the muggle movies she had watched. Was Gina really feeling threatened by _her_? No way. Gina had everything. Hermione was just the little bookworm friend.

Gina, however, was not to be put off. "That _thing_ that I walked in on," she began.

"-Was an accident," Hermione assured her. "Fred's all yours and I won't step in a try to take him away."

"You better not," Gina told her just as they both saw Fred and George coming back across the floor. It was only when she saw them side by side that Hermione realized that the twins were wearing the exact same clothes. Years of being around them made telling the difference easy for her, but Hermione could tell by the way Gina was frowning that, side by side, she couldn't tell them apart.

George seemed to sense this as well because he grinned and hooked his arm around her waist. "Let's dance," he told her, leading her off to the floor. She didn't balk, obviously thinking that George was Fred.

Fred smoothly recovered and smirked widely at Hermione. "Guess that leaves you and me, Granger," he told her.

"Guess so," Hermione told him quietly, afraid that he might be upset with her.

Fred nodded towards the dance floor. "Shall we?"

Hermione gulped. Dancing and fooling around with George was much different that actually dancing with Fred. "Uh, only if you want to," she told him.

He led her out onto the floor as his answer, and then nodded towards his brother and Gina. "Fred and Gina. Quite a couple, aren't they?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Fred and Gina are," she told him, holding back a smile, "but George and Gina really aren't."

Fred looked startled, and his eyebrows rose. "I'm George," he told her firmly.

With a grin, Hermione placed her hands on Fred's shoulders and slowly trailed them up his neck. She would her fingers through his shaggy hair, only to let her small hands caress his two good ears. "Nice try, Fred," she said with a smirk.

Fred smiled as well, and the tension that had seemed to settle over them evaporated as his arms tightened around Hermione's waist. "So what do you think of Gina?" he asked casually.

Hermione shrugged, hoping that her face didn't reveal exactly what she thought of his girlfriend. "It's not for me to decide," she told him softly.

Fred tilted her chin up and shook his head. "Maybe not, but I greatly value your opinion."

Hermione glanced back at Gina for a moment before sighing. "She's not the person I would have chosen, but that's up to you."

Fred, however, did not seem surprised by this comment. In fact, he seemed to have been expecting it. "I know," he told her, leaning over so that he could speak in her ear above the noise. "She's kinda the exact opposite of me."

"Kinda," Hermione agreed, trying not to sound sarcastic. Yes, Gina was definitely the opposite of Fred in every respect. "But so am I," she told him with a smile, "and we get along, so-" she shrugged and turned her face away from him.

"True," Fred said with a nod. "Maybe opposites attract." They both fell silent, but Hermione felt a thrill shoot through her body when Fred pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head. They weren't dancing to the upbeat music, they were simply dancing together. They danced to their own beat, drowning everything else out, and Hermione felt almost hurt when she felt a rude tap on her shoulder.

"Fred and I are going to head out to eat," she informed Hermione and Fred, almost yelling to be heard over the music.

George, behind her, winked at his brother and Hermione. "We'll see you in a few, yeah?"

To Hermione's surprise, Fred nodded. "Have fun," he told them, and then watched them leave with a rather thoughtful look on his face.

"Why would you do that?" Hermione asked him.

Fred shrugged. "Why not? A little variety is good for the soul. George told me that he wants to get to know Gina better. He won't do anything inappropriate." He winked. "I hope."

Hermione shook her head, muttering, "Twins." She knew that Fred couldn't hear her over the roar of the music, and she couldn't help the secret thrill that came from knowing that she had Fred all to herself for a few hours.

"We should probably head back," Fred said, startling her by bending over to speak into her ear instead of shouting. The brush of his lips against her ear made Hermione shiver, but she covered up the action by nodding.

Together, they Apparated back into the flat, but just as Hermione's feet touched the floor, Fred plowed into her from behind, knocking her over and driving the breath out of her lungs. "Oof!" she cried, twisting so that her back took the brunt of the force instead of her stomach. Fred was able to catch himself before he landed fully on top of her, something that Hermione blessed quidditch for.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he muttered, and then peered down at her through red strands of hair. "I think we need to work on our landing," he said with a grin.

Hermione just nodded, too aware of the fact that she was lying under _Fred Weasley_ to care about her landing at all. She blinked, thinking that if she closed her eyes, Fred's lips would move further from her own, and would not tempt her so much. It didn't work. "Yeah," she finally managed when she noticed that Fred was looking at her intently.

However, he didn't seem to be waiting for an answer. Instead, he appeared to be gazing very studiously at her face, mainly her lips. "Hermione," he said softly, her name sounding slightly strained on his lips.

He began to move his head towards hers and Hermione found herself shaking her head. "Don't, Fred," she told him. "You've probably had too much to drink. Y-you don't want this."

Fred pulled away for a moment and then asked, "Do you?"

The way he looked at her made Hermione's will feel like jell-o. "Th-that's beside the point," she told him hastily. Fred shook his head and bent his head down towards hers again. And once again, she stopped him. "Fred!" she gasped, trying to wriggle away from him. He didn't want this. He didn't, couldn't want her.

Fred actually looked amused. "I haven't had anything to drink," he told her, bending close and breathing onto her face. Sure enough, no alcohol tainted his sweet breath.

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. If he hadn't been drinking before she had gone to the club, then that meant that he _wanted_ to kiss her. That meant that the incident against the wall had not been a mistake. "Oh," she mumbled, still confused and unable to let herself relax under Fred's body.

He smiled widely at her and then bent his head down once more. "Please," he whispered when he noticed her hesitancy, "don't fight it. Don't fight me." His lips came down on hers and he murmured, "Mione."

Ron had been her one and only kiss, and he had evoked none of the feelings that Fred did. Hermione felt such a tingling rush of emotion for the young man hovering over her that she closed her eyes and smiled into the kiss, letting him control it, letting him take it wherever he wanted it to go. His lips caressed hers gently, then insistently, and she let herself get lost in the feeling of being with the person she loved the most.

Wait, loved?

She was allowed to ponder that thought for only a moment before Fred deepened the kiss and Hermione completely lost the will to think. Period.

And it didn't even matter that they were still on the floor.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! Please review! It's so important to me!!! ;)**


	10. Reconciled

**A/N: Enjoy!!**

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_The tingle of his lips against hers._

Hermione shook her head sharply, trying to concentrate on the boring material in front of her. She could do this. She _needed_ to do this. After all, this was her job, and it should not have taken her well over three hours to complete. She glanced down at the ledgers in front of her and sighed. She didn't want to do this.

_His hands caressed her neck, running through her hair and ignoring the normal tangles he found in it._

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. One kiss. That's all it had been, and here she was fantasizing about it like a starved person. She could remember clearly Fred's face when he had finally pulled away from her. Confused, but not upset. He had helped her up from the floor, pulling her into a tight, warm hug before he wordlessly led her up to her room and gave her a gentle push inside.

She hadn't seen him since.

It had been impossible for her to sleep, despite the obvious hint that Fred had given her that she needed to rest and not let herself over analyze what had happened downstairs. She couldn't help it. It was a part of her system, and no matter what she did, she couldn't stop thinking about what she had done.

She had come between Fred and Gina. The sad part? She didn't feel a bit remorseful about it at all.

_His eyes, brilliantly blue and twinklingly clear, as he gazed down at her for a moment before bringing his lips to hers again._

Hermione roughly slammed the ledger shut in an effort to slam the doors of her memories closed. She had work to do, and she couldn't be thinking so intimately about the kiss she had shared with another girl's boyfriend, who happened to be one of her best friends, who currently had a major amount of money missing.

"Merlin, this sounds like a bad soap opera," Hermione growled as she slipped a pair of socks on and padded out to the kitchen where there was probably more light and a table where she could lay the accounting books out. She noticed that George's door was closed, which meant that he had come back safely from his date with Gina sometime during the night, but Fred's door was open, and he was missing.

Instantly, panic flowed through Hermione, turning her blood ice cold in her veins. Where was he? Was he alright? Had something happened to him? It was only then that she noticed the note spell-o-taped to the door.

_Hermione,_

_I figure that you're probably going to be up later, thinking things over, so I thought I'd write you a note to tell you NOT TO PANIC. I'm fine. I'm just out for a while so that I can do some thinking. Please don't worry, I'll be back soon._

_Fred_

Hermione sighed, and then grinned despite her anxiety. He knew her so well. Resolved that nothing had befallen him, she turned towards the kitchen and laid out the ledgers, beginning to go over them more thoroughly than before.

She honestly couldn't understand it. One month, the money was there, and the next, it was gone. There was no receipt for it, and there was no side note, scribbled in the twins' sloppy writing, to indicate that they knew that the money was missing. Hermione put her head in her hands and sighed, leaning against the table for support.

"Is it the ledgers or my brother?" someone asked, causing Hermione to jump in her seat.

"George!" she gasped, finding the second Weasley leaning casually against the door frame in a casual, confident way that Hermione always envied, looking tousled from sleep. She closed the ledger, eager to hide the large hole in the twins' account, and asked, "What are you doing up? Did I wake you?"

George rolled his eyes. "Why do you always think that it's all about you, Hermione?" he asked, and Hermione would have felt stung if she hadn't noticed the teasing tone in his voice as he pushed off the door frame and strode towards her. "No, you didn't wake me up. I've been awake for a while." He wagged a finger at her. "You're avoiding my question."

Hermione, still surprised to see him, blinked. "Question?" she asked.

George pulled out the chair across the table from her. "Yeah. The one where I asked you whether your frustration is with the ledgers or my brother." He grinned. "Can't decide? You can choose both if you want."

Hermione laughed as well. "No it's not your brother. It's more like my inability to count." She shook her head and then looked up at him, startled. "How'd you know about your brother?" Her eyes narrowed. "_What_ do you know about your brother?"

George grinned broadly. "Well," he hedged, more in an effort to watch her squirm than to collect his thoughts. "I know that when I came home from dropping Gina off-" here he shuddered, "Fred was still pacing the room. He didn't even greet me, just grabbed his broom and told me that he was going out to think for a while now that I was here to look out for you."

Hermione bit her lip. "Did he seem upset?" she asked meekly.

George gave her a knowingly look but didn't tease her like she thought he would. "No, just confused. So, I went to get ready for bed and that's when I noticed the note on his door." He smirked at her. "And then I deduced that something had happened between you two, and that you'd be sitting up late tonight, trying to get it out of your head." He leaned forward, his eyes twinkling. "Was I right? Did you kiss? _Please _tell me that my horrid night with Gina wasn't in vain!"

Hermione laughed, put at ease by his pleading. "No, it wasn't in vain, I don't think," she told him carefully, "though I do think that you and I have caused some problems. Gina thinks she went out with Fred, Fred kissed me, and-"

"Fred actually kissed you?!" George cried. When Hermione blushed, George pumped a fist in the air. "Yes!"

"George!" Hermione hissed, worried that Fred might come back any moment and find her explaining things to his brother.

"I knew it!" George cried, completely ignoring her. "He's been so upset lately, not completely understanding all those emotions he's been having for you. Nearly bit my head off when I danced with you last night."

"What?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"He dragged me off to the bathroom to tell me to stop dancing with you," George said gleefully. "I told him that I didn't mean anything by it, and that he could dance with you if he didn't want me to." He winked. "Then I snagged Gina and didn't give him a chance to refuse. When you guys looked really content, I just seized the moment and took Gina out to dinner." His eyes now narrowed teasingly. "You're _very_ welcome."

Despite herself, Hermione laughed. "Well, thank you," she said honestly.

George sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I'd better get back to bed," he said tiredly. "I'm worn out." He stood and pointed to the ledgers. "Don't be up too long."

"Yes, mum," Hermione retorted, but she smiled as she watched George disappear from the room.

She should go to bed. She realized that, but the gaping hole in the accounts that lay before her were plaguing her mind. Hermione reached out towards the ledgers once more, but stopped herself from touching them. She knew that if she opened them, she would feel all the more disconcerted about her ability to count.

"_I'll look at them in the morning,"_ she thought, and then, just as she was about to turn out the light, a thought struck her and she stopped.

Fred and George had done so much for her. They had been there for her, gently teasing her when she needed a break from the strict world she forced herself into. They had refused to let her pay rent, but there was one thing she could do for them….

* * *

The goblin didn't like her. That was obvious from the moment she walked up, but then again, Hermione reasoned, who did the goblins actually like? But she knew that it was partly because of breaking into Gringotts a while ago. "Does Miss Hermione Granger have her key?" he asked after she had cleared her throat for a long while in order to get his attention.

Hermione nodded and held up one of the two keys on a ribbon. "Yes," she said.

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Her vault didn't have much in it, but Hermione didn't stop to think about that as she quickly counted out the appropriate amount and placed into in the bag she had brought. She stubbornly turned away from the small stack of coins that was left and nodded to the goblin that waited for her. "I need to see the Weasley vault," she said clearly.

The goblin blinked. "Does Miss Hermione Granger-"

"-have her key?" Hermione finished, trying not to sound irritated. She held up the second key, the one that the twins had given her when she had taken over the ledgers, and nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Very well," the goblin said stuffily.

The Weasley vault came up soon enough and Hermione handed the key to the goblin, who opened the door and stepped aside so that Hermione could enter. With great care, Hermione entered the vault and dropped to her knees, opening the bag and meticulously placing the money there in piles. When she was done, she left the vault without a word.

As she bid the goblins on the ground floor good day and apparated out of the bank and into the twins' flat, Hermione felt a smile appear on her lips. She crossed to the ledgers and pulled out the correct one. Underneath the last entry, she wrote one word.

_Reconciled._

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**A/N: Wow! 107 story alerts! Thank you guys so much! You honor me by being interesting in my writing enough to alert it! Please review and tell me what you think! I really hope you liked it!! :D**


	11. Dinner at the Weasleys'

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my readers! You're amazing! :D Enjoy!!!  
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Hermione was working down in the shop the next day when Fred poked his head out of the backroom door. "Hermione?" he called.

She held up a finger to the person in front of her and said, "One sec," and then turned around and strode over to where Fred was waiting for her.

As she drew near, Hermione couldn't help but notice how handsome Fred looked. Garbed in a deep forest green vest and brown overcoat, his pale skin and red hair stood out all the more as he eyes captured hers for a long while. He licked his lips nervously. Her lips parted as she remembered that exact tongue and those lips on hers.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, sighing. "Yes?" she asked, hoping that he would get the message. He wasn't hers. She wanted to kiss him. She had customers waiting.

Obviously, he understood one of those three, because he cleared his own throat and said, "Just wanted to let you know that all of us are going to the Burrow tomorrow for dinner."

"All of us?" Hermione asked.

Fred nodded. "You, me, George, and…Gina."

Hermione's face paled. "Gina?" she asked, remembering George's chat with her a while ago about trying to keep Gina away from the Burrow.

Fred nodded. "I'm going to introduce her to everyone." He looked slightly nervous as he asked, "You are going to come, right?"

A million thoughts raced through her head, a million ways to say no. A million reasons why going to the Burrow and watching as Fred introduced his girlfriend to his family was a bad idea. Yet, despite all her thoughts, the words, "Of course," came out of her mouth, and in that moment, she sealed her fate.

Just a friend. That's all she would ever be.

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Hermione stood in front of the mirror, gazing at her reflection. She let her chin turn from side to side as she examined the person staring back at her. Was there something wrong with her? Was she really so undesirable to men, Fred in particular?

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned away from the mirror just as George bounded into the room. "Hey," he said cheerfully, and then seemed to notice Hermione's face. "I know. You don't have to say a word."

"Good," Hermione said, knowing that they were both thinking about Gina. "I'm tired of talking."

George grinned then. "You just want to be snogging my brother, yeah?" he teased.

Hermione punched his arm lightly, but didn't deny it. "Something like that," was all she said.

George just grinned at her and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Come on," he said. "Let's get this over with."

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Molly Weasley was speechless. Perhaps it was the fact that Gina's outfit was something probably listed somewhere in the many pages of Playwizard, or perhaps it was because the girl had breezed right through Fred's introduction and had made herself at home on the couch with barely a "Hello," to show for it. Either way, all the matronly Weasley could do was stand there and blink for a few moments before Hermione stepped up and kissed her on the cheek.

"Lovely to see you, Molly," she said kindly. "It's been a while."

Mrs. Weasley snapped out of her surprised state and eagerly hugged Hermione back. "Why, it most certainly has, dear," she said, peering over Hermione's shoulder at George, who only rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, silently telling his mom that he had absolutely no control over Fred's girlfriend. "Well, come in, all of you, and sit down!"

Hermione laughed as she was ushered into the living room that she had been in so many times before. "Where is everyone?" she asked, strategically choosing a seat away from Gina and curling up in it.

Mrs. Weasley glanced at the clock for a moment before she answered, "Charlie's still in Romania, Bill and Fleur are coming over later, Harry and Ginny are with Ron getting their father and Percy. You know how Arthur gets when he's working on something new." She shook her head tolerantly and clucked her tongue.

Hermione glanced at George, who was staring at Gina, who was constantly shifting in her seat, appearing to be trying to find a position that minimized the amount of contact she had with the couch beneath her. Fred, meanwhile, was standing stiffly by the fireplace, watching his girlfriend, but not making any move to sit next to her. "Um," Hermione said, feeling responsible for filling in the odd silence. Silence was not a normal commodity in the Weasley household.

"I think tea is in order," Mrs. Weasley said, bustling towards the kitchen.

"I think I'll help," Hermione told the room, standing up and slipped past Fred (keenly aware of his presence as she was doing so) and scurried from the room.

This was going to be a long night.

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When the rest of the Weasleys and Harry flooded in, Hermione was pretty sure that the night was going to become normal again, but instead, it got worse. Everyone who entered seemed to understand the stressed undercurrent that surrounded Fred and Gina, and they kept their talking, roughhousing, and joke-telling to a very bare, almost nonexistent, minimum. The Burrow had never been so quiet before in the history of all its owners.

"So Fred," Bill teased, in an effort to break back into the light home atmosphere, "where have you been hiding Gina all this time?"

Hermione focused on her plate, fully expecting Fred to say something embarrassing like, "Under my bed," while he waggled his eyebrows. No such thing happened. He just shook his head and said, "I haven't been hiding her anywhere. She's been busy for a while."

Hermione was rather surprised by Fred's curt reply, and so was Bill. He ducked his head and didn't speak again for the rest of the meal. Hermione was further surprised when she raised her head to sneak and peek at Fred and found him watching her intently. Feeling confused, Hermione turned back to her plate and tried not to look up again unless it was absolutely necessary.

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The night came to an end when Ginny and Harry snuck off and Ron slunk away from the table without even sticking around for dessert. Bill and Fleur apparated out of the house, leaving George, Hermione, Fred, Gina, Arthur and Molly all sitting at the table uncomfortably. Fred ran a hand through his hair and asked, sounding irritated, "Gina, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone," he clarified.

Gina stood quickly, perhaps too quickly. "Sure," she said, and she followed him out the door into the garden of the Burrow.

George shook his head and extended his hand towards Hermione. "I think we should be going," he said pointedly.

Hermione nodded in agreement and took his hand, smiling as he helped her up. "Thank you so much, Molly," she said softly. "Dinner was delicious as always." She made no mention of the company.

"You're most welcome, dears," Molly told her, bustling around the kitchen now as normalcy seemed to return. Arthur bid them goodbye, and then George was apparating them into the flat at 93 Diagon Alley.

"What do you think Fred's going to say?" Hermione asked tentatively, worried about George's response.

George shrugged. "Not sure," he admitted truthfully. "Dinner didn't go so well, so I hardly think he's proposing." He smirked at her teasingly. "Who knows? We'll find out later." He ran a hand through his hair, much the same way that Fred had done earlier. "For now, I'm tired. See you in the morning?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah," she responded. She watched as he disappeared into his room, and then she sat down on the couch, unsure what to do. She could read. Reading was always a good, reliable, _safe_ option. However, she felt absolutely no inclination to pick up her most trusted friends and turn their pages. She didn't want to find comfort in the ink, she wanted to find comfort in Fred.

She flicked her wand at the fireplace and started a fire, hoping to warm her shivering limbs, though she refused to let herself admit that the chill of the night had nothing to do with the shivers. Her shivers had everything to do with the fear of the unknown.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, staring morosely at the fire, but she had just stretched and allowed her back to crack when another crack was heard throughout the flat. Fred appeared in front of her, looking haggard and wincing, but there was no blood to be seen.

"Fred!" Hermione gasped, standing quickly and taking a step towards him just as his eyes focused on hers. "Are you alright?"

Without a word, he strode towards her purposefully, his hands reaching out to grasp the base of her neck and her waist, and he pulled her into his arms roughly, bending down and capturing her lips before she could even manage a gasp. "Hermione," he whispered.

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**A/N: Just to quell all fears, Fred IS NOT CHEATING!! There's a reason, which I'm sure you can all guess now. ;) IMPORTANT NEWS: I'm going to be doing a quick three-shot fic (the last of the ones I "adopted"from the Twin exchange). It's entitled Adrenaline Rush and should be up right after I post this chapter. Please pop over and have a look! I'm excited about it! But don't forget to review here first!! I know, I'm bossy tonight!**


	12. Make It Better

**A/N: Enjoy!!**

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Hermione pushed Fred away from her, gasping for breath. Her eyes were wide with fear and surprise, and she was shaking, her body already mourning the loss of contact with the man in front of her. The man who had a girlfriend.

"What are you doing?!" she gasped out, pushing her hair out of her face. "You're dating someone! We can't keep doing this, Fred!" Her body gave another tremble, and she pressed her hands to her face in order to hide the fact that she was beginning to cry. Gina would kill her if she ever found out!

Fred gently pulled Hermione's hands away from her face, bending slightly so that he could look her right in the eyes. "I'm kissing the woman I'm in love with," he told her. "I'm not currently dating anyone, but I _have_ just broken up with my girlfriend, and we'll continue to do this as long as you'll have me." He ran his knuckles gently across Hermione's cheek. "Any other concerns you'd like to voice at the moment?"

Hermione blinked. Had she heard him right? He had broken up with Gina? "No," she began, answering his question and opening her mouth to ask a whole series of her own questions.

"Good," Fred said, cutting her off and capturing her lips with his again. His kiss was more passionate than the last one, and Hermione could barely think as he molded his lips to hers, gently prying them open and deepening the kiss.

"Finally," someone said.

Hermione whirled around, but Fred just grinned, using her startled momentum to pull her back against his chest so that he could rest his chin on top of her head. "Isn't it?" he asked, a lilt of laughter in his voice.

George, leaning sleepily against the doorframe much the same way he had the previous night when he had spoken to Hermione after the first kiss, nodded, grinning just as wide. "Took you long enough," he teased, rubbing his eyes. It was obvious that Hermione's loud protests of Fred's kiss had woken him, but he didn't seem the slightest bit upset. "So you ditched Gina?"

Fred laughed at the hopeful, excited tone in his brother's voice. "What was your first clue?" he asked, feeling his happiness lighting up his face and turning the slightly delicate situation into a laughable joke. "Was it perhaps the part where I specifically _said_ that I no longer had a girlfriend, or was it the part where I kissed Hermione twice?"

Hermione blushed, but George only laughed along and shook his head. "Neither," he told his brother, but refused to say exactly what had been the deciding "clue." Instead, he wished them well, winked at Hermione conspiratorially, and then went back to bed.

Fred, however, was too excited, and pulled Hermione onto the couch with him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Hermione snuggled into the crook where his shoulder met his body, and sighed. She was here, lying next to Fred with him _willingly_ holding her, and she was still worried that he had made a mistake. _"Can I never learn to accept things the way they are?"_ she wondered angrily.

Fred's fingers grazed lightly over her arm. "What are you thinking?" he asked her. "I can practically hear all those wheels in your head squealing together."

Hermione sat up with a gasp. "Are you implying that the wheels don't get much use?" she asked, her voice shocked and angry at the same time.

It was Fred's turn to gasp at that. "No!" he exclaimed, missing the way the corners of her mouth turned up slightly in amusement. "Not at all! I only meant-"

Hermione cut him off by leaning in and kissing him very softly, barely brushing her lips over his in a feather-light kiss. "I was just teasing you," she told him with a grin, her small hands unconsciously making patterns on his chest. "I know what you meant."

Fred blinked. "Hermione Granger is…teasing me?" he asked, pretending to be confused.

Hermione laughed and snuggled closer. "I have been known to do that on certain occasions, you know," she said.

"I know," he told her, wrapping an arm around her. "It's just…I've waited so long for you to be mine that you rather scared me."

Hermione felt herself stiffen slightly. "What?" she asked, not sure if she had heard him right.

Fred ran a hand through his hair, something that Hermione was beginning to notice that the twins did when they were nervous. "I started to feel something special for you after that night in the kitchen. Remember that?"

Hermione blushed again and nodded. "Yes," she murmured.

Fred continued. "I used to pretend that you were talking about me when you asked for advice." He shook his head. "I know it was wrong because I was with Gina, but I didn't completely understand my feelings towards you."

Hermione glanced shyly up at Fred. "I _was_ talking about you," she told him with a smile.

"You were?"

Hermione grinned at the surprised tone in Fred's voice. "I was. I didn't understand it, but when George told me that you had a girlfriend, I couldn't think straight."

Fred snickered. "So I gave you advice on how to treat me, then," he said with a grin.

"Seems like it," Hermione responded, snuggling closer and tucking her head under Fred's chin.

"I'm glad it worked."

Hermione looked up at him and grinned. "Me too," she said.

He brought her lips to his once more, and Hermione sighed into the kiss, relishing the freedom to be with Fred without feeling guilty. Her fingers found his neck caressing the skin there as Fred deepened the kiss.

When Fred reluctantly pulled away, he kissed her forehead and said, "We should probably get to bed. It's late, and we have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah," Hermione said, reluctantly moving away from Fred as he swung himself into a sitting position on the couch. She noticed that as he moved to stand, he winced, pressing his hand over his hip bone. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

Fred nodded. "I'm fine," he assured her. However, when he noticed that Hermione wasn't letting the matter drop so easily, he explained, "Gina was rather upset when I broke up with her and she tried to do one of those spinning kicks on me." He winced again and straightened up. "She missed and hit my hip instead. I'm fine, really, Hermione."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a hug that soothed away all her trepidation. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, her mind already whirling on the spells to create ice.

She felt Fred grin against her hair. "Well," he said slowly, "you could always kiss it and make it better."

Hermione snapped her eyes up. She took one look at Fred's teasing face and slapped him across the chest.

It appeared that he was feeling better already.

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**A/N: Hope you all liked this! PLEASE review!!**


	13. Tell the Truth

**A/N: Thank you to ALL my readers! Enjoy!**

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Fred eased the door to Hermione's room open, tiptoeing inside. He identified the bundle that was rolled up in the sheets and smiled to himself, imagining lying next to her and waking up to her small frame next to his each morning. _Without_ the mediwitch textbook that was currently occupying the extra pillow next to her. That thought made his smile grow wider and he slipped forward stealthily. Reaching out, he gently touched her shoulder, shaking her slightly. "Hermione," he whispered.

An answering groan was the only reaction he received, and so Fred rolled his eyes and tried a different, more sure-fire way of waking up his new girlfriend. He kissed her. He started with her forehead, then her cheeks, then her nose, and finally her lips, teasing her into awakening.

"Fred," she moaned, twisting slightly so that she could meet his lips more easily.

"That would be me," Fred mumbled against her mouth, grinning though he knew she couldn't understand him. He reluctantly pulled away and grinned at Hermione. "It's time to get up."

"Mmm," she murmured sleepily. "I like waking up this way."

"Thought you might," Fred said, unable to resist the smugness he felt. "Everyone does."

Hermione cracked one eye open and saw the grin on his face, understanding immediately that he was teasing her. He expected her to get upset. Well, she would show him. She coolly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is this how you wake George up too?"

The tips of Fred's ears turned red and his eyes sparkled. "What if it is?"

Hermione laughed. "Feeling light in the loafers, Fred?" she teased back.

"Hey!" Fred cried, and then he pounced on her. Her movements were limited since she was still incased in her cocoon of blankets, and though she squirmed mightily, there was nothing she could do about his well placed tickles except gasp for mercy.

"Oi!" someone called, and both Fred and Hermione stilled. They looked up, and there stood George, grinning at them widely. "Enough of that! You'll have enough time to snog and things later. Right now, we have a business to run." He glared at Fred. "If you can't stay focused, you can't wake her up anymore."

"She distracted me!" Fred whined while Hermione rolled over, smothering her laughter in her pillow.

"And you protested so much," George shot back. He grinned at Hermione. "Your breakfast is on the table, if my brother ever lets you get that far."

Hermione laughed again and pushed Fred away from her, sending him toppling back onto the bed. It was his turn to get tangled in the sheets, and they all ended up laughing all over again. Finally, Hermione pulled herself up and said, "Alright, I'm up. Let's get going, boys, or customers will not be too happy."

"Either that, or they'll assume that everything in the store is free-"

"-Since there's no one there-"

"-To ring them up," the twins finished simultaneously, putting on mock faces of horror.

"Exactly," Hermione said with a nod. She grabbed her clothes and slipped down the hall to the bathroom so that she could quickly shower and change for the day. When she finished pulling her hair up, Hermione hurried to the kitchen and downed her breakfast, making it to the shop just as George was opening the doors.

"Glad you could join us," he said with a grin as he turned around, gallantly ushering two blushing girls into the shop. Hermione, however, knew that the comment was aimed at her.

She ignored him and began to stock the shelves, mentally recalling all that she had studied last night. Though she was no longer planning on going into training at St Mungo's, Hermione still wanted to read and understand the entire textbook. _"It'll be useful when I have children,"_ she thought. Immediately, she stopped right in the middle of stocking love potions, feeling her whole being shudder. She had thought "when" instead of "if." She glanced over at Fred, who was oblivious to her glances since he was helping a young boy, and shook her head. In such a short time with Fred, barely a day, her thoughts had so perfectly and immediately settled down to plotting out a future, and those thoughts scared her.

"You alright there, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up and found George watching her carefully. Confused and now embarrassed, Hermione nodded and ducked her head. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Off in thought."

George stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "You look pale," he told her. "Should you go lie down?"

Hermione shook her head, more adamantly this time. "No, really, I'm fine. Honestly." She could tell that George still didn't believe her, but he left her alone, crossing over to where Fred was finishing up his purchase. Hermione watched as he casually said something to Fred, causing Fred to dart a glance her direction. She rolled her eyes. She would be watched closely the whole day.

* * *

"Cup of tea?" George asked innocently hours later when the shop had been closed and the twins and Hermione were seated in front of the fire in the flat.

Hermione looked up from her textbook and squinted, first at the cup, then at George. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "What have you done to it?"

"Nothing," he candidly assured her. "This cup's perfectly fine. It's the second cup you should be worried about." He winked at her and Fred, next to her, chuckled.

Hermione cracked a grin and accepted the cup. "Fine then," she said, and bravely took a sip.

George shrugged as she stared up at him defiantly and turned back to the chair he was sitting in. Hermione blinked, wondering if they twins had truly not done anything to her tea. She did a systems check, and couldn't feel anything morphing or changing out of the ordinary. "Hmm," she muttered aloud.

Fred glanced over Hermione's head at George, who nodded back. "So what were you thinking about today, Hermione?" he asked casually.

"Having kids." The words flew out of her mouth before she could even think. Her eyes flew open in shock and she turned to find Fred smirking and George gaping at her.

"Really?" Fred said, sounding completely at ease. He leaned forward slightly, and Hermione could see that his eyes were twinkling. "With me?"

She fought. She really did, but the words flew out of her mouth once again. "Ye-es." It came out in a strangled gasp, but it was audible enough.

"Wow," George said, looking shocked and blinking at her.

Ashamed, Hermione looked down at her textbook, and then realization hit her. "You jerks!" she cried. "You put Veritaserum in my tea!"

George grinned at her, but then had the decency to appear remorseful. "You worried me today. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I couldn't think of anything else. Didn't know I was going to get _that_ response!" Now he looked downright gleeful.

Hermione turned her glare to Fred. "And you let him!"

Fred shrugged, relief evident on his face. "I was worried too. You _did_ look awfully pale today. We didn't give you a lot. Only a drop." His bottom lip drooped slightly. "Please don't be angry with us."

That look! She couldn't be angry when he gave her that look. She sighed and rubbed a palm over her face. "I'm not mad, I'm just embarrassed. I really have no idea where that thought came from, which is why I looked so startled, I guess," she told him. She playfully glared at George. "You just never drop things, do you?" she asked.

George shook his head. "Nope. I'd get in trouble if they broke." He winked at her. "I always try to keep a good handle on all my affairs."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Fred snickered. Before she could make a smart retort, however, Fred pulled her up from the couch. "Come on," he said.

"Where are we going?" she asked, surprised by the sudden change in topic.

Fred winked at her. "On a date," he told her, and cheekily added, "to discuss how many kids we should have."

Hermione punched his arm halfheartedly as he apparated them away, still laughing.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and thank you all so much for reading!! :D Also, special thanks goes to The Golden Duo 22 for the loafers comment. Thank you ladies very much!! ;)  
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	14. Quidditch Date

**A/N: Surprise! I had extra time! Enjoy!!**

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"So where are we really going?" Hermione asked as Fred pulled her along through wizard London.

Fred glanced back at her as he wove his way through the crowds. "On a date," he said simply, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. The glint in his eyes, however, told her that he understood her perfectly.

Hermione gave him a hard look. "Yes, I got that," she said sharply. "I meant, where are we going _on the date_."

Fred laughed and slowed his steps, letting the crowd undulate around him as he waited for Hermione to catch up so that he could walk beside her. "Tiny restaurant I know," he told her. "Thought you might enjoy it."

He guided her through the streets, staying closer than before as the crowd grew bigger. It was only when she saw the brightly colored jerseys on some of the people that Hermione deduced where they were really going. "A quidditch game?" she asked, trying gallantly not to sound disappointed. Here she had imagined a quiet little restaurant with only a sparse amount of couples, not half of the wizard population.

Fred, however, seemed to detect her dismay, even above the loud noise of the crowds. He raised his voice and said, "I know, but hold on a second!"

Obediently, Hermione waited as the crowds pushed and shoved to get into the stadium, the close atmosphere creating a stifling heat that no one in the crowd but her seemed to mind. Fred led her towards the stairway leading up to the upper levels of the stadium, and Hermione followed right along with him. She was jostled and shoved, but Fred deflected most of the pushes of crowded people as he guided her up the stairs.

Finally, he pulled Hermione to the side at about the middle level of the stadium. People filed up and down this level, but not many stayed. "This is a particularly coveted level," Fred said, answering Hermione's unspoken question. "It's halfway between the sky and the turf." He winked. "This is where everyone wants to be."

"_Except me,"_ Hermione couldn't help thinking, then berated herself for being so ungrateful. There was obviously a reason they were here.

Fred led her towards a doorway, and opened the door there for her. As soon as she stepped inside, Hermione's eyes widened. The box she was standing in overlooked the entire quidditch field, depicting the many, many people that had come from the game, but the interior was plush enough to belong in a manor. "Fred," she said softly, surprised beyond words.

Fred, on the other hand, only grinned and led her over to the small table in the corner where their dinner, charmed to stay warm, was already laid out for them. "I told you it was small," he teased.

As she glanced over the tiny table, complete with its candles and fancy china, she couldn't help but feel another rush of love for Fred. "It's perfect," she told him, and although it was inside a quidditch stadium, she meant it.

Fred pulled out her chair and helped her sit before he seated himself in the chair across from her, his back to the window. "I know you're probably wondering a dozen different things," he told her with a grin, "so I'll save you the trouble and just tell you the whole story."

"Sounds good to me," Hermione told him, reaching out and taking a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

Fred inhaled and then said, "I've had these tickets for a while. I was planning on bringing Gina here for her birthday, but we broke up before I could give her the ticket." He shrugged. "They were an awful lot of money to just let go to waste, so I thought I might bring you instead." He held out his hands warningly. "Not as a replacement for Gina, mind you."

Hermione almost laughed at his tone. "I know," she assured him, grinning as she watched him relax. "It's not my favorite place in the world, but it's very lovely." She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Thank you. It's a brilliant surprise."

Fred smiled back and then seemed to remember something. "Oh! I have something for you," he told Hermione, rummaging around in his coat pocket.

"Something else?" Hermione asked.

Fred nodded. "This one, though, was all about you." He winked at her and pulled out a shrinked package. Uttering a spell, the package returned to its normal size as he handed it to her.

Hermione took the gift and unwrapped it, letting the paper fall to the floor as she found _A Witch's Wonder Guide to Weekly Home Spells _nestled within. She looked up at Fred, knowing full well that he was being serious when he gave it to her. She had confided in him years ago that she didn't know very many house spells and would like to learn before she had a family. "Thank you!" she breathed out.

Fred smirked. "I thought you could start practicing now. You know, for when the children come." Hermione shot him a look, but he ignored her and continued, "I know quidditch isn't your favorite sport, and I want you to know that I really don't mind if you read during the game. We can go any time you want to."

Hermione laughed at all his disclaimers. "Well thank you again," she said quietly, just as something down on the field caught her attention. "Fred, the game's about to begin."

Fred, with his back facing the pitch, shrugged. "We haven't eaten yet," he said, startling Hermione.

She realized then just how special he was trying to make this night. With a genuine smile on her face, Hermione picked up her plate with one hand and dragged her chair along in the other. "Come on," she said as she settled herself in front of the glass. "You can't miss the start of the game."

"Are you sure?" Fred asked, glancing back at the decorative table, his eyes betraying him as they strayed to the window where the players were now visible.

Hermione nodded. "I'm sure," she assured him. "Now come on or you'll miss it."

Fred didn't have to be told again. He mimicked Hermione's movements, and soon they were eating off their laps, watching the players whiz past their box. They ate in relative silence, making jokes about the game and such, and when their meal was over, Fred stood and took the plates back to the table, retrieving Hermione's new book and placing it in her lap as he sat down.

With a smile, she opened the book and began to read, sliding her chair closer to Fred's so that they could sit shoulder to shoulder. She saw him grin out of the corner of her eye and smiled as well when he placed a hand on her knee. Together, they sat in the box, utterly enjoying the other's silent company. Neither one felt left out, and both felt quite calm.

However, as Hermione turned a page, she noticed Fred wince and a hand go to his side. Something wasn't right….

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**A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review! Also, I'm posting a TE Monthly Challenge fic right after this called The Way She Bites Her Lip. I hope you'll go and check it out! Thanks for all your amazing reviews!!**


	15. Our First Discussion

**A/N: Thanks for all your awesome reviews!! Enjoy!**

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Hermione hated the way that guys always felt like they needed to be the superior, strong, silent types. She glared down at the pavement, resisting the urge to petulantly cross her arms over her chest. "Fred," she began, but was cut off once more.

"I'm _fine_, Hermione," he insisted, his tone strained and annoyed. "Please stop worrying."

They walked in terse silence the rest of the way home, and the only time Hermione spoke was to suggest apparating back to the flat instead of walking all the way. Fred, however, shook his head. "Why?" she asked, cringing when she feared she might start an argument all over again.

Fred seemed to notice because he gave her a watery grin and said, "I don't want to miss a moment of our first fight. You know, they're just as silly as everyone says they are."

Hermione looked up at him and couldn't help grinning, even though worry still nagged at her heart. "I suppose this one's my fault," she said with a sigh, staring ahead and contemplating whether or not he would take that as an apology.

Fred seemed to guess this because he asked, "Is that supposed to be an offhand apology, or is it my turn to say, 'No darling, it's all _my_ fault,'?" Laughter tinged his words, and Hermione laughed in return.

"Either one works," she told him, glancing up mischievously.

Fred took a step closer to her and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "We shouldn't fight about something like this," he murmured against her hair, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Technically, we weren't fighting," Hermione told him, ever the practical one. "Fighting involves raising our voices. We were discussing things."

"Heatedly," Fred added, grinning as Hermione shot him a look.

"I'm just concerned about you," she told him, suddenly feeling defensive. Why couldn't he just accept that? Was she not allowed to be worried about him, especially when he appeared to be in pain? Why on earth did he feel like he had to hide that from her?

Fred noticed the change in her attitude and immediately pulled her closer, stopping their forward progress. "Thank you," he told her honestly. "I know you meant to help, but I don't want you to worry. I'm just a little sore from Gina's…well, rather _angry_ goodbye and turning certain ways hurts. That's all."

Hermione nodded. "Fine," she said. "Then I won't ask again."

They walked in a now-comfortable silence, evenly matching each other's steps as they headed for the flat. Fred broke the silence by grinning and giving a small laugh. "I wonder if we stayed away long enough," he murmured, almost to himself.

Hermione frowned. "Long enough for what?"

Fred smirked at her. "George had a date of his own."

"Really?!"

Fred nodded. "Pretty bird named Jessi. He's quite smitten with her."

Hermione gaped at him. "When did he meet her?" she asked, mentally calculating all of the times she hadn't seen George in a while. She couldn't think of any.

Fred shrugged. "Met her in Diagon Alley. He was trying to help her with a spell she couldn't quite get and she turned around and asked him who died and made him boss over her. He's been hooked ever since."

"He never mentioned it," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"He's kinda shy about relationships," Fred admitted. "He'll probably tell you after tonight. Humor him and pretend like you don't know anything by nodding and smiling in all the right places." He winked at her.

Hermione laughed and shook her head, now understanding Fred's reasoning for taking the "longer" way home. She noticed that as they continued to walk, Fred's steps became smaller and smaller, labored with each step. She pretended not to notice, and instead focused on the storefronts of Diagon Alley.

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When they finally made it back to 93 Diagon Alley, Fred looked pale. Or was it the setting sun that lightened his features? No, he definitely looked pale. "Are you," Hermione began, and saw something flash in his eyes, "um, going to open the shop tomorrow?" she finished lamely.

Fred raised an eyebrow. "That's generally the way a business is run," he said sourly.

Hermione felt her temper rising and she bit her lip hard to keep from firing a response back at him. She didn't need to fig-discuss anything else with him again today. "Well good," was all she said before breezing into the shop and ascending up to the flat. She soon found herself in the living room, and grinned widely when she found George sitting rather close to a pretty young witch on the couch. Jessi must have stayed later than expected.

They both looked up when she entered, and George's face turned slightly pink. "Hey, Hermione," he said cheerfully. "How'd the game go?"

"Fine," she answered, almost all of her attention focused on the girl next to him. She smiled and said, "You must be Jessi. So nice to meet you."

Jessi smiled back. "Likewise," she said. "I've heard a lot about you. George has so much praise for you that I'm quite jealous!" Her smile as she spoke the words indicated that she was teasing.

Hermione laughed. "I wouldn't be too worried," she told Jessi. "He's only saying that because I'm a hard worker." She winked. "He wants to keep me around for a while."

George laughed, no longer feeling embarrassed. "Yup, she's absolutely right, as always." He winked, and Jessi laughed, but it wasn't the annoying, fake giggle that most girls gave off, it was a genuine, joyous laugh.

The door opened again and Fred came into the flat, looking haggard, and in the light of the flat, Hermione immediately knew that it had not just been the dying sun that had made her boyfriend look pale. She frowned, but didn't say anything. When she turned back and found both George and Jessi watching her, she pasted on a smile and said, "Well, I'll let you get back to your chat. I need to go catch up on my bookwork." She smirked at George. "George's earned my loyalty for another day."

The new couple laughed, and even Fred managed a weak smile. With a wave, Hermione disappeared from the room, never glancing Fred's way. She was hurt and angry with him, and she was afraid that she might break down in tears if she let herself, so she shut herself up in her room, not coming out before bedtime.

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The first thing that startled Hermione out of her sleep was an aching thirst for water. Her throat felt so dry that she could barely swallow. Realizing that she had probably fallen asleep with her mouth open, she wearily pushed the blankets off her small frame and silently padded into the kitchen to get some water.

As she turned the corner into the living room, Hermione realized that a light was still on, and now that she stopped to think about it, she could hear voices. Water forgotten for the moment, she crept back from her spot and stood in the shadows, listening.

"When did it start?"

"During the game." That was Fred's voice, strained and tense.

"And you're just now doing something about it?" The incredulity in George's voice almost made Hermione smile in triumph.

"Oh stop," Fred growled. "You're as bad as Hermione."

"Whom you really hurt, by the looks of it," George scoffed. "Bookwork? On a Saturday? Come on. She was mad."

"I know." This time, the voice sounded repentant almost. "I'll apologize in the morning, if I ever make it that far. Can't you just give me the potion and stop lecturing me, George?"

"The potion knocks you out," George told him stubbornly.

Fred's voice held a slight tinge of amusement as he said, "Exactly my point."

"Fred, this is serious! Stop acting like this is a joke!"

"I'm not acting like it's a joke! I'm just not blowing it out of proportion. Now would you _please_ give me the potion? I'm really in pain."

Hermione bit her lip. This was what she had worried about. This was why she was so mad. Fred was hiding this from her!

She heard George sigh, and the sound of something clinking. "Get into bed before you take it," he ordered his brother. "I made it strong enough to really knock you out. Let's hope it works."

There was a slight pause. "Thanks, George."

Hermione pulled away and slipped back into her room, her water long forgotten. For the rest of the night, she lay in bed, worrying about what was to come. As the moon began to set, ushering in the new day, Hermione shivered. Lying here in bed was like the proverbial calm before the storm.

The real battle had just begun.

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**A/N: NovemberDreamer, this one's for you! Since you asked nicely a while ago, I indeed gave you George! I took your quip from your profile, so I hope you enjoyed this!! For the rest of you, yes, another cliffhanger. You can all get mad at me, but you know WAY deep down that you enjoy them!! LOL! Please review, and I really hoped you liked this. Unfortunately, the story is winding down. I'm going to be sad to see it go. :(**


	16. Everything's Fine?

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews!! Enjoy!**

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Fred cornered her the next morning. Literally. She had been making breakfast in the kitchen and he had pinned her against the counter, apologizing until she forgave him. Then, he spent another few minutes pinning her to the counter in a completely different way and kissing her before George strolled in and told them to get away from his pancakes and to get a room.

Now, as they sat next to each other at the breakfast table, Hermione couldn't stop smiling. Her worry about Fred had all but vanished from her mind since he appeared to be just fine this morning. _"Perhaps a little more than fine,"_ she thought wryly as she batted away the hand that was inching mischievously up her knee.

"What?" Fred asked defensively when she glared at him.

"You _know_ what," she told him. A smirk from her boyfriend emphasized her point.

George, across the table, just shook his head and laughed at his brother and his friend. "Impossible," he muttered, apparently meaning his brother, since it was Fred's turn to glare.

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Hermione enjoyed working in the shop, even though Sunday wasn't a very busy day. The twins were planning on heading back to the Burrow for dinner, and she knew that she was going to tag along. As she stocked the shelves, Hermione felt a sense of peace and happiness flood over her. She had everyone that she loved in her life, and they all seemed to be perfectly fine now. She glanced over at Fred and found him winking over a customer's head at her.

Yes, everything was back to normal.

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The laughter that rang through every corner of the Burrow that night was a far cry from the quiet table that Gina had sat in on. Hermione was laughing so hard at a joke of Charlie's that Fred had to catch a hold of her hair so that it didn't get doused in her soup as she doubled over with laughter. As she looked around at the rest of the family, Hermione knew that she truly belonged there. Molly and Arthur had been blatantly ecstatic when Fred had ushered her in the door and announced that he and his girlfriend had arrived. The rest of the family had made plenty of jokes and laughter, but it was easy to see that everyone was happy, and even relieved.

"Charlie, stop it!" Molly ordered, wiping her own tears from her eyes. "No one's able to eat with you going on like that!"

Charlie chuckled and sat back to eat his dinner, the look on his face promising that as soon as the meal was over, he had more stories to tell. "Fine," was all he said.

"Hermione, dear," Molly then said, "Are you sure you've taken enough?"

Hermione looked down at her plate, heaped full of food, and nodded, trying not to laugh at the older woman's unnecessarily worried expression. "Yes, I'm quite sure," she told her.

Molly, however, didn't look convinced. "Alright," she said, "but if you're still hungry, I expect you to have seconds."

Hermione nodded obediently. When Molly joined a conversation with Bill and Fleur, Hermione leaned over and whispered to Fred, "I'm amazed that you all are so thin with the way Molly feeds you!"

Fred grinned and held up his cleaned plate in a silly salute. Then, smirking at her, he reached for seconds.

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"I feel so full I can barely walk!" Hermione moaned, leaning against the kitchen counter as she and Ginny dried the dishes.

Ginny laughed. "Perhaps you shouldn't have had that second piece of pumpkin pie," she offered.

Hermione glared at her. "Who was it that offered it to me?" she asked sweetly.

"My mom," Ginny said, and then nodded, understanding that Hermione _did_ seem to have a point there. When Molly Weasley put something on your plate, you ate it or suffered her wrath.

"Exactly," Hermione said as she flicked her wand and cast a drying charm over her set of dishes, not having the will to dry them manually like they were supposed to be doing.

Ginny ignored her laziness and glanced out the window, smiling softly. "Look at them," she said.

Hermione turned around and looked out at the backyard of the Burrow where the boys were playing quidditch, and she couldn't help but remember the quidditch game that had started all this. Seeing the wistful look in Ginny's eyes, Hermione playfully smacked her friend with her towel. "Go on," she said. "I can see that you're dying to get out there. I'll finish these up." She motioned towards Ginny's stack of dishes.

Ginny's face lit up. "Thanks Hermione!" she called, tossing her towel down on the counter, grabbing her broom, which was leaning against the kitchen door, and dashing out into the yard. After only a moment, she ran back in and skidded to a stop. "You know," she said, and her face showed a happy calmness that wasn't usually there, "you've made my brother very happy." And then she was gone.

With a smile, Hermione turned back to the dishes, once again casting a drying charm as she leaned against the counter and watched the boys cheerfully accept Ginny into the game, already arguing about which team she should play for. She watched as Fred and George whooped, their brooms diving into the action as Harry and Charlie raced around for the snitch. Bill was yelling at Ron to stop being an idiot since he was trying to fly upside down, and Ginny's hair was flying around her face as she zoomed up and knocked Ron off his broom, sending him tumbling the seven feet to the ground. Once assured that he wasn't harmed, Ginny flew off laughing.

"Idiots," Hermione mumbled, unable to stop grinning.

Fred's broom suddenly plummeted down a few feet, causing George to yell something that Hermione couldn't quite hear. Then, Fred was righting his broom and landing, motioning for everyone to stop. From her place at the window, Hermione couldn't hear what he was saying, but she knew as soon as the twins started towards the door that something was wrong.

Fear tore her laziness away from her and she leapt across the kitchen to grab her jacket. She raced out the door, her legs pounding in the grass as she tore over to the twins. "What's wrong?" she cried when she reached them.

Fred shook his head and winced. "I don't know. I-I need to go home and lie down."

Hermione started to turn back to the house to tell Molly and Arthur, but George shook his head and stopped her. "Don't worry about it," he said. "We already told everyone. They'll tell mom and dad."

Without another word, they apparated back to the flat. If Hermione had not been holding Fred's arm as tightly as she had been, he would have fallen to the floor upon their arrival. She and George managed to get him to the couch before Hermione noticed the tears in his eyes. "Where does it hurt?" she asked him as she accio'd a blanket to throw over him.

Fred's hand moved down to the patch of skin right next to his right hip bone. "Here," he muttered.

Then, he blacked out.

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**A/N: Yes, yes, don't even get me started. Just review and get it over with!! LOL! Hope you enjoyed this!!**


	17. Surgery

**A/N: Enjoy!! **

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"What's wrong with him?!" George cried, leaping towards his brother, who had been brought out of his unconsciousness by the force of the pain and was now thrashing around the couch, muscles tense, face white with pain. Hermione's heart broke to see the tears streaming down Fred's cheeks.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, paling as Fred moaned. Flashes of memories assaulted her at the moment. Fred kissing Gina. Fred kissing her. Fred flooing home after breaking up with Gina and limping. Fred wincing at the quidditch game. Fred asking George for a pain potion.

"Hermione!" George called, bringing her back to the present as he knelt next to his brother, his hands firmly grasping Fred's arms to keep him from bucking off the couch. George was close to tears as well, and Hermione heard the desperation in his tone.

"We have to get him to St Mungo's," Hermione said, pulling out her wand and levitating Fred towards the fireplace. It was a tight fit, but she and George managed to squeeze in alongside Fred.

"St Mungo's!" George yelled, throwing down the green powder.

Nothing happened.

Desperately, George tried again. "St Mungo's!" Again, nothing.

Hermione stopped him from trying a third time, realizing that they were wasting valuable time. "The floo must be disconnected," she said, stepping out of the fireplace. "We'll have to apparate."

"Hurry," George urged, and Fred let out an answering groan.

They held on the each other, and Hermione expected to apparate right out of the flat. However, something stopped her, an unseen obstruction so powerful that she stumbled and almost fell. "Oh!" she gasped as George reached out to steady her. Fear pounded through her heart as she tried again. She _had_ to get to St Mungo's.

The same force hit her again, and this time, it was so painful that her vision swam and sparks of pain warned her against trying again. "Something's…wrong," she gasped out, picking herself up off the floor. "I don't know what it is, but it's like someone's placed wards around the flat." She rubbed the back of her head, willing the headache she now had to stop.

Fred gasped and twisted, letting out a cry. George's attention jerked towards his brother and then back to Hermione. "What do we do? We have to do something!"

Feeling pressured, and slightly hysteric, Hermione closed her eyes and willed herself to block out the images of the person she loved so much lying in front of her in pain. What could she do? There was no way to get to St Mungo's, and if they walked, Fred could be dead by the time they got there. What to do. What to do.

Without meaning to, Hermione remembered a whole chapter from her mediwitch textbook. Her eyes flew open in shock, and her gaze sought Fred, mentally running through each and every symptom. Yes, yes he had that too. Yes, yes, and yes. She closed her eyes. She knew what it was, but did she have the courage to do something about it? Sweat broke out on her forehead and the palms of her hands. This was her boyfriend! She couldn't do this! She had no training. She could kill him!

"Hermione?"

The soft call of her name made Hermione open her eyes again, only to find George staring at her nervously. The fear in his eyes solidified her decision. She had to try, if only for George. "I'll need a cauldron of hot water," she said carefully, fully aware that his eyes were widening. "I'll need plenty of clean towels of all different sizes, and a few of the steak knives from the kitchen."

George's eyes, if possible, got even bigger. "Um, Hermione?"

Hermione whirled on him. "Don't argue! I might just talk myself out of this! Go!"

Without another word, he raced up the stairs to the flat, accio'ing the towels and things as he went. When she was alone, Hermione levitated Fred onto the floor by the fireplace, nervously kneeling next to him. With tender fingers, she wiped his sweaty hair out of his face. At her touch, he opened his eyes and gazed up at her, giving something halfway between a smile and a grimace. "Mione," he gasped out, and Hermione felt a rush of love for him at that moment.

"I have to try something," she said, feeling tears beginning to form. "You'll-you'll die otherwise."

Fred closed his eyes tightly, groaning as pain raced through his body, but he lifted a hand to Hermione's cheek and ground out, "I t-trust y-ou." He paused for a minute, muscles tensing in pain, and then whispered, "I love you."

That was it. The tears came. Hermione bit her lip again to keep from audibly sobbing. "I love you too."

Further heartbreaking talk was interrupted as George levitated a cauldron of hot water, towels, and knives down the stairs in front of him. "Here," he said, slightly out of breath as he came to a stop in front of Hermione. "What are you going to do to him?"

Hermione looked down at the steak knives, the sharpest knives in the house, and closed her eyes tightly. "Fred needs surgery," she explained hurriedly, already moving to lay the towels out and around Fred's body. "It's a muggle thing that they do when something in the body doesn't work properly and they have to remove it." She grabbed two knives and slid the blades into the hot water, transfiguring the other blades into a needle and appropriate surgery thread while sliding her wand into her back pocket.

"What can I do?" George asked quietly, laying a trembling hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I'll help in any way I can."

Hermione looked up into his face and saw the trust there in his eyes. "Do you think you could hold him down? We don't have any medicine to knock him out, do we?"

George shook his head. "We used all of the pain potion last night." He moved around to his brother's shoulders and placed his hands there. "Here?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. She checked the blades, wanting to sterilize them as much as possible. "Take off his shirt," she told George, wiping the blades with a towel from the stack. George worked Fred's shirt off and tossed it onto the couch, not even watching to see where it landed. Hermione nodded and unbuttoned Fred's jeans, pulling them off and tossing them in the same manner before she pulled his boxers down so that they sat low on his hips, allowing her to reach the hip bone.

George grimaced as her fingers gently pushed a prodded, making sure that the problem was exactly where it should be. Fred's cries assured her that it was. She looked up at George, meeting his pained expression with one of her own. "You might not want to look," she told him, her voice trembling.

"I'm alright," he assured her.

Without another word, Hermione gripped the knife in her trembling fingers and eased it down onto Fred's skin, making a quick incision before she could back out. Fred yelled and his body bucked, nearly knocking Hermione backwards with the force. Realizing that George's hold would not be enough, Hermione moved her supplies closer and straddled Fred, pinning his legs to the ground as well. She tried to block out Fred's screams as she spread the lips of the incision open, wincing slightly as warm blood rushed over her fingers, bathing her hands and part of her clothes in blood.

Without the proper tools, she had to poke around for a while, causing Fred more pain that necessary. She finally found what she was looking for: his appendix. Sure enough, the small organ that should normally lie rather flat underneath the colon was full, angry red, and leaking slightly. Knowing that it could burst at any moment, since the organ was already leaking, Hermione grabbed the second knife and began to calculate.

She had blood vessels that needed to be kept intact. She had a colon that she couldn't risk to slice. The incision had to be perfect, and in order to do that, her hands needed to stop shaking. Without a thought for her clothes, she wiped her hands down her shirt, cleaning the blood off as best she could and gripping the knife a little tighter. She reached in, her fingers moving to cup the appendix so that no more of the liquid could fill Fred's body. She took a shaky breath and sliced down, tears coming to her eyes as she heard Fred scream.

More blood oozed over hands, and some even splattered her cheeks as she bent over and pulled the appendix out, setting it down on the towel next to her before wiping her hands again and reaching for the needle and thread. Moving to Fred's side so that she could find a better angle, she knotted one end of the thread and began to sew the incision sight up, making sure that it was tight and would not come undone. She was relieved to find that the blood vessels were still intact and that she had not severed them.

Just as she bent over Fred again to sew up the four-inch incision in his skin, she heard someone say behind her, "Is this how you treat all your boyfriends, Granger?"

George's head shot up, and Hermione twisted around, shocked that someone was in the room. Behind her, immaculately dressed as always, stood Gina. And it was obvious that she wasn't just here for a social call, since her wand was pointed directly at Hermione. "Gina!" they both gasped.

It was only then that they noticed that Gina was garbed completely in black, her hair pulled back into a severe bun. The grin on her face was even more malicious than before, and her hand never once wavered as it pointed her long wand at Hermione. "My, my, Granger," she clucked sarcastically, "what would the Ministry say if they found you like this?" She let her gaze roam over Hermione's bloody form, taking in the blood that spattered her cheeks, shirt, and hands. "Why, you're slowly murdering a pure blood!"

"She's saving his life," George growled out, reaching for his wand next to him.

"Expelliarmus!" Gina called, momentarily flicking her wand at George. His wand flew out of his hands, and Fred beneath him shifted, biting his lip in an effort not to groan.

As she saw the glint in the woman's eyes before her, Hermione suddenly understood. "You planned all this," she said calmly.

Gina smirked. "You're certainly not the brightest witch of your age for nothing," she said condescendingly. "Yes, I planned it all. And the Ministry will reward me when I tell them that I stopped you from murdering my dear Fred."

Hermione shook her head, calculating all the ways that she could possibly reach her wand. George was too far away, and Gina would notice if she tried to reach for it. "Why would you do this?" she asked. "What are you gaining from it? Fred?" She looked down at her boyfriend. "You're killing him, just to spite me?"

Gina actually laughed. "Perhaps I was hasty with that 'bright witch' comment," she said. "You see, Fred has absolutely nothing to do with this, except perhaps for getting me closer to you." She reached into the pocket of her robes and withdrew and sheet of parchment, holding it up so that George could see it. "Remember this?" she asked.

George's eyes widened. "The Ministry's note," he said, and then everything clicked. "You're part of the rogue Death Eaters that the Ministry warned us about." He glanced up at her with astonishment. "You're here to kill Hermione."

Gina nodded. "Exactly," she said, a sneer crossing her face. "Can't have mudbloods spoiling our race. You might be one of the Golden Trio, Granger, but when the Ministry hears that I've killed you after you'd stolen money from Fred and George's company, and then tried to kill Fred in order to keep him quiet, they won't hesitate to thank me."

"So it was you," Hermione murmured. "You stole those galleons from the twin's account."

"Caught that, did you? Well then, yes. It was a fabulous opportunity, and I took it. However, when I show the Ministry the deficit, I'll be the last one they think of to charge."

Hermione felt a hand slowly, gently move over her jeans, and she struggled not to show any signs of surprise. The hand reached her pocket and began to inch her wand out. "This may surprise you," she said evenly, "but there is no deficit in the twin's account." She glared challengingly at Gina. "Just thought you might like to know that before you say that I stole five hundred galleons."

Gina narrowed her eyes and seemed to ponder that for a moment. The wand was freed from Hermione's back pocket. Then, Gina shrugged. "Oh well," she said lightly. "No matter. I'll decide how to spin the story later. For now…." She raised her wand slightly.

"Avada Kedavra!"

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**A/N: I hope the surgery bit wasn't too graphic for all of you. Go on, get it out of your system! REVIEW! I hope I answered all of your questions, even though that's a total cliff hanger!! Thanks so much for reading, and pixies114, you were absolutely right!! LOL!**


	18. Everyone's Fine

**A/N: Couldn't leave you hanging for long!!**

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Hermione's eyes flew closed and her body tensed, expecting to feel the painful blow of the killing curse, and then nothingness. However, she heard a scream that was decidedly not her own, and her eyes flew open once more.

There, lying in front of her, was Gina, her eyes wide, unseeing, her face pale and horrorstricken. Hermione's own eyes widened and she whirled around on her knees to find Fred lying there, her wand in his hand. "Fred," she murmured, astonished. She had thought that it was George who was pulling her wand out.

Fred closed his eyes for a moment, and his hand released its death grip on her wand. As the wood clattered to the floor, he gasped, "Mione?"

"Yes?" She leaned closer in order to hear him, noticing that George did the same thing as well.

"I think I'm going to faint," Fred told her, his face paling even more than it already had.

"Oh," Hermione managed, shock beginning to set in and weaken her thought processes and nerves.

"Yes, gonna faint," Fred muttered, and then his head fell back and his eyes closed.

It was only then that Hermione realized that she had been interrupted before she had sewn up the wound. She shakily reached for the forgotten thread, trembling so much that she could not thread it. "Here," George said, his voice slightly more steady than her fingers. He reached out and grabbed the needle and made short work of threading it before he handed it back to her.

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly.

There was still plenty of blood, and Hermione cringed as her fingers irritated the incision and caused more blood to flow to the wound as she began to stitch the seams together. Periodically, she was forced to wipe the small amounts of blood that had pooled over her fingers off in an effort not to let the needle slip. Finally, she made the last knot and the incision was closed. She looked up, only to find that during the time she had been concentrating, George had removed Gina's body and was standing over her, watching with admiration in his eyes.

"He's done," she said, vanishing the towels and the knives, with a wave of her recovered wand. She looked down at Fred, who was still unconscious, and murmured, almost to herself, "he'll be alright."

George stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's over," he told her calmly.

Suddenly, everything that she had just been through came rushing back, sending her thoughts into a dizzying frenzy of images. The blood. The green light of the curse that she thought was meant for her.

She fainted.

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Hermione woke and found herself in her little bedroom, tucked tightly beneath her covers. She moved the blankets aside for a moment and looked down, expecting to find her bloodied clothes, but instead found fresh, clean pajamas. She rolled over just as the door opened, and she smiled when she saw George's head poke in. "Hi," she said sleepily.

He grinned. "Hi yourself. How're you feeling?"

Hermione shrugged, and then blushed. "Fine, but silly. I mean, really. After all of that, I had to go and faint." She buried her face in her pillow, not wanting to see George's teasing face.

However, after a moment, she felt the bed dip and looked up to find George sitting next to her. "You have no right to be ashamed," he told her calmly.

"But-"

"After what you did, there's nothing to be sorry for. A lesser person would have gone into shock way before you did. A lesser person would not have operated on her boyfriend." He grinned and gently ran a finger over Hermione's blushing cheek. "A lesser person probably wouldn't have even studied that huge textbook of yours from cover to cover."

Hermione's blush intensified. "Thanks, I think," she murmured.

"I guess what I'm trying to say," George began again, "is that I'm so thankful for what you did for Fred. I'll never forget it as long as I live." The earnest tone of his voice struck Hermione, and she felt her heart swell with friendly affection for the young man in front of her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

George grinned and pushed her back against the pillows. "You should get some more rest. You've had a long day."

"But what about Fred?" Hermione asked, her mind already running through different after-surgery symptoms that she needed to check for.

"Fred is fine," George assured her. "I put him in his room, and I was rather gentle too, and then I put you to bed. Everyone's fine, Hermione. It's all over. Just get some rest, and you can see him in the morning."

"Promise?" Hermione demanded.

George grinned. "Promise."

He began to head towards the door, but Hermione remembered something and called him back. "George?" she called.

He paused right by the door frame. "Yeah?"

"Who dressed me?" she asked, feeling the blush creeping up her neck.

George grinned widely. "Don't worry, Granger," he said softly. "It wasn't easy, but I closed my eyes." He grinned. "Trust me, it wasn't easy."

She glared at him. "George Weasley!" she gasped.

He smirked at her. "I meant getting your clothes off and on, little witch," he told her. "What did you think I meant?" His knowing grin told her that he knew _exactly _what she thought he meant.

"Never mind," Hermione said, flopping back onto the bed.

She could hear him laughing all the way down the hall.

Everyone was fine. It was over.

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**A/N: The story's almost over too. One more chapter, and that's it. :( I hope you've enjoyed this, though, and please review! I can't wait to thank you all for those reviews!! Also, tonight's your last night to vote on the Twin Exchange profile for Kiss at Midnight. Please do so!! Thanks! :D**


	19. Deciding on Children

**A/N: This is the last chapter! :( Enjoy!!**

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"No! Fred!" Hermione struggled against his tight hold on her. "Stop it! You're going to rip your stitches!"

"No I'm not!" Fred protested, humor tingeing his voice as he tried to pick her up again and move her from her work, knocking a spare quill and a few sheets of parchment off the table in the process.

"Fred!" Hermione laughed, unable to hold back a laugh. Then, she became serious as she asked severely, "Do you want me to have to re-stitch your incision?" She heard an almost audible pause.

"No."

She almost laughed again at the meekness in that one word. "I didn't think so," she said, turning back to the ledger in front of her. Then, realizing that she wouldn't get any work done, she pushed the book away and set down her quill. "If I sit with you, do you promise to rest?" she bargained.

"Sure," Fred said amiably, giving no indication that he had been pestering her for the last half hour to let him go outside and do something, anything.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled and didn't argue with him anymore. After a week of trying to keep him in bed, she was tired of fighting. George had given up three days ago, saying that if he was strong enough to argue, he must be feeling alright. Hermione, however, had not shared his same view, and to Fred's great amusement, kept wanting to check up on him.

"I think you just enjoy taking off my pants," he told her one day when she was checking his incision.

Hermione had glared at him, noticing the smirk plastered on his face. "Don't flatter yourself," she had said, willing her face not to twitch into the smile she wanted it to. "If it was any lower, George would be looking at it while I shout instructions from the kitchen."

"You wound me!" he had cried, but he hadn't mentioned it again, much to her relief.

Since then, they had spent quite a lot of time together. Hermione still helped George run the shop, but most of her time was spent with Fred. They would spend hours curled up together on the couch, sometimes talking, sometimes not saying anything. George would join them when he felt like it, and they would usually play Exploding Snap.

No one spoke about Gina, and the Ministry had cleared both Hermione and Fred from any wrongdoing that might have befallen them. Hermione's operation had been necessary, and even the mediwitches at St Mungo's had praised her work, despite the tools she had been forced to use. Fred's Avada Kedavra had been necessary as well, and he was not charged or reprimanded in any way.

As they sat down together in front of the fireplace, inches away from where all of the pain and suffering of last week had taken place, Fred looked at Hermione and said softly, "One day, we're going to have to talk about it."

Hermione nodded, her elbows braced on her knees. "I know. Actually, it's probably harder on you since you killed your ex-girlfriend."

Fred shrugged. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Hermione, you did so much that day, and you sacrificed so much." He reached out and took her hand in his. "It's you I'm worried about."

Hermione looked down at their joined hands, abstractly noticing just how well they fit together. "I'm okay," she told him quietly. "It's hard to think about, but I'm so glad that it's over."

Fred nodded. "As long as you're okay," he told her. "Now," he said, and the teasing tone was back, though he was still looking seriously at her. "_I_ have something I want to talk to you about."

Intrigued, Hermione sat forward, turning slightly to face him. "Really?" she asked.

Fred nodded. "George told me that we owe you, oh, about five hundred galleons."

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. "He wasn't supposed to repeat that," she said angrily.

Fred patted her hand. "I'm glad he did," he told her defiantly. "We can't let you give us that much money."

"Yes you can!" Hermione told him. "Your business needs it!"

Fred shook his head. "We'll make it back," he assured her. "We're not going to take your money."

"This way, you won't need to," she argued stubbornly. "Please, it's my gift to you two. Think of it as a 'thank you' for letting me stay here and work for you."

Fred peeked through the strands of his long red hair at her. "There's no way for me to convince you?" he asked desperately, knowing that George would be just as displeased about her refusal.

Hermione shook her head. "None," she said firmly.

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That night, after a hearty dinner, all three of the young people slipped into the living room to sit by the fire. Hermione smiled from her place nestled in between the twins. "It's so peaceful tonight, isn't it?" she murmured offhandedly.

George glanced over her head and caught his brother's slight nod. Grinning, he casually nodded and said, "So it is. Hermione, would you know of anything helpful from that textbook of yours for headaches?"

Hermione turned to peer at him. "You have a headache?" she asked, surprised. Normally, someone with a headache would have pupils that had dilated to different degrees. George's were perfectly even.

"It's just starting," George told her, trying to move past her scrutiny. "I think I'll just go lie down." He stood and smiled once more at his brother and his friend. "That's probably the best thing to do." With one last wink towards Fred, George slipped out of the room.

Hermione leaned back against Fred's good side and sighed. "We should check on him in an hour or so," she remarked.

Fred gave a noncommittal, "Hmm." Then, he grinned. "I guess all that learning really came in handy, yeah?"

Hermione grimaced. "Yes, but I really wish I hadn't needed to know how to operate on my boyfriend." She glanced up at him. "It's not the most pleasant job in the world."

Fred nodded in understanding, and then shifted so that he could reach into his pocket. "But perhaps this is," he said, and held something out in his hand.

Hermione looked down and found a ring lying in his palm, wrought out of white gold. It was simple and elegant, with only two small diamonds in the middle of ironwork fashioned into delicate vines. "Oh!" she gasped, and looked up to meet Fred's gaze.

He shrugged, and then smiled widely. "We never did get around to discussing how many children we should have," he told her, trying to be serious and failing mightily.

Hermione let out a surprised laugh and held out her hand so that he could joyfully slide the ring onto her finger. "No, we didn't," she said as he pulled her closer into his arms. She smiled up at him. "We should work on that."

"Gladly," he murmured, pulling her in for a kiss.

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**A/N: I hope you liked this! This story has been so much fun for me to write, and thank you once again to all my readers. Please review one last time!! I'm also starting another fic in honor of Preetoaka Raven Potter Weasley****. Please go check it out. It's called The Laws of Attraction. Thanks again!! You guys are awesome!!  
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	20. You Love Every Minute

**A/N: Due to numerous requests, here is the very last chapter! I really hope you enjoy it!!**

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**Thirteen Years Later:**

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned against the kitchen counter, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, listening to the war yells coming from upstairs. "_Expelliarmus!"_ someone upstairs yelled, followed by a loud thump and a short wail.

"That's it," Hermione growled. She pushed herself away from the edge of the counter and marched out of the kitchen. "George!" she called, every ounce of Ministry official tone she possessed being used in that syllable.

There was a soft groan and a short laugh from above. Within a moment, a head of impossibly curly red hair poked out through one doorway. "Yes?" he asked, a half smirk spreading across his face as he casually slid not one, but _two_ wands into his back pocket.

Hermione leaned against the banister and couldn't resist smiling up at her son. "Would you come here, please?" she asked, just as casually. George sidled out of the room, his lanky legs causing him to stumble for a moment, causing another titter from the room. Finally, he managed to stand in front of Hermione, looking up into her face.

"Yes?" he asked again, batting his eyelashes in a way that almost always worked on his mother.

"What have I told you about playing with your sister?" Hermione asked.

George paused for a moment, seeming to ponder her question. Hermione knew that he was deliberately stalling, since she knew he did not lack intelligence. Far from it. All the professors at Hogwarts had told her on her last visit what a brilliant student he was once he settled down and stopped slipping different joke potions into people's drinks and food. Hmm. She wondered where he got that from.

"Well?" Hermione asked, waiting. She tapped her foot to prove her impatience, and George sighed.

"Sarah is a girl, and must therefore be treated with more respect and gentleness than cousin James or anyone else," George said in a monotone, wincing even as he said it. Oh yes, he knew the rules perfectly well.

"Then why have you ignored that fact?" Hermione asked, mentally cringing when she realized that she sounded as though she was cross-examining a witness at the Ministry. This was her son, not a criminal! She sighed. She was beginning to think that it would be a good idea to stay at home more often.

George shook his head angrily. "I was only defending myself!" he protested. "She came at _me_!" He sounded dangerously close to whining. "She cast the _Rictumsempra_ charm on me!"

The tickling charm. Hermione sighed. Of course it had come down to a battle of who could draw their wands again faster. "Sarah!" she called. "Come here please!"

The owner of the giggling voice appeared moments later, a large bruise already beginning to form over her eye where, no doubt, some part of George's body must have hit her. She was as tall as her brother, and when she came down to stand next to him, Hermione couldn't help but marvel at the similarities between them. Anyone could tell that they were twins.

"I'm sorry," she said immediately, but her apology was aimed at her mother and not her brother.

"It's not me that you should apologize to," Hermione told her daughter. "It's George."

Chastised, but not appearing completely repentant, Sarah turned to her twin. "Sorry about that," she said, her voice already eager to make amends and get back to their game.

George shrugged good-naturedly. "Sorry about that eye," he said, nodding to his sister's left eye. "I didn't realize that I'd hit you when I jump-I mean stumbled-over you." He cast a quick glance at his mother to see if she had caught his mistake, and then grinned. "Come on. Let's get back to our project!"

Together, they raced back up the stairs, and Hermione grinned. That was how quickly such arguments were resolved in her house. She didn't even bother to try to put a stop to their "projects" anymore since their father continued to encourage them and egg them on. Speaking of which, Fred should be home soon. Hermione glanced at the clock and realized that he would be home any moment.

She moved to set the table, and in doing so, let her mind wander. Thirteen years had passed since she and Fred had saved each other's lives. They had married only a month after all of the drama had died off, and, amongst teasing about getting started on the Weasley bunch, Hermione had become pregnant on her honeymoon. George and Sarah had been born early, eight months and two weeks later.

Since then, many things had changed, though some had stayed the same. Fred bought a house only a few miles from the Burrow and was able to apparate to and from the shop daily. George had indeed married Jessi after all, and they had gone on to have one little boy, Fred, and one baby girl, Hannah. They lived comfortably above the shop, and their flat was a regular stop in Hermione's day. She continued to work at the shop as well as on a few special projects for the Ministry, which Fred was still hinting at that she needed to resign from.

A burst of green flames interrupted her musings and Hermione turned towards the fireplace to welcome the arrivals. Just as she had expected, there stood her husband, holding a squirming little bundle. "Honey, I'm home!" Fred teased, and Hermione grinned back at him.

"Mommy!" the little bundle cried happily, squirming all the more in the hopes of escaping into Hermione's arms.

Fred laughed and shifted the bundle. "I found her on the way home. Darling, can we keep her? She's so cute!"

Hermione's heart swelled with love as she took the little girl into her arms. Her Clara. Her darling little girl. At five years old, she was sturdy and strong, but still protected by everyone in the family to a certain extent. Hermione had almost lost Clara during her pregnancy, and the actual birthing had been far too strenuous on both mother and baby. For a long while, the healers had worried that Hermione might lose her baby again, but time would heal all, and Clara would be their little ray of sunshine.

"How was grandpa and grandma's?" Hermione asked as her daughter snuggled into her shoulder.

"Good!" the little one chirped. "They fed me."

Hermione laughed and glanced up at her husband. "Don't they always?"

Fred smiled and pulled her into a soft kiss. "Always," he agreed. "Where are the kids?"

"Up-"

"DADDY!"

"-stairs," Hermione finished with a laugh as twin footsteps thundered down the stairs, racing to greet their dad.

Fred scooped up his twins, hugging them tightly for a moment before he set them back down and spoke to each of them. Clara, who had followed Hermione around to the other side of the kitchen, saw her brother and raced towards him, crying, "Georgie! Georgie!"

Her little foot caught on the leg of a chair and she felt onto her knees. Instinctively, Hermione gasped, but one look from Fred halted her forward progress to her daughter. His silent message was clear. Clara was fine. They couldn't baby her forever. Sure enough, her daughter rose back up, unharmed except for a skinned knee, and rushed the rest of the way to her brother.

As soon as she was in his arms, George rocked her back and forth, chatting with her and keeping her happily occupied while he checked her over for injuries. Hermione felt her heart swelling once again, this time for her little boy. Not many eleven-year-olds would treat their baby sisters like that, but George Weasley doted on his sister, just as his namesake did whenever Clara came over to visit her "Uncle Georgie."

"Mom, can we go outside and play?" Sarah requested, watching her twin carefully as he examined their sister.

Hermione consulted her watch and saw that dinner had another half an hour. It was a warm summer night, and the children were restless. "Sure," she said. "But I don't want you getting too dirty, understand?"

The twins nodded vigorously, and George swung a squealing Clara over his shoulder as he raced out the door. Sarah accio'd their favorite quaffle, and the children were off to grab their brooms. "Thanks!" they hollered.

"George Weasley!" Hermione hollered. "No higher than three inches!"

The young prankster, who was already settling Clara in front of him on his broom, just grinned and pushed off the ground, exceeding three inches in less than a second. Hermione frowned, but rolled her eyes. They went through this every time the twins went out to play and took Clara along. Though she knew that George would never let anything happen to his baby sister, Hermione couldn't stop worrying.

"They'll be fine," Fred assured her, grinning as he kissed her cheek and ran his hands over her shoulders. "Stop worrying."

Hermione turned around so that she could face her husband. "I know," she said with a sigh. "It's my nature, though."

"I know," he responded with a smirk, leaning in and capturing her lips in a soft kiss. The feelings that he stirred within her with that simple touch reminded Hermione of the news she had to tell him.

"I have something important to say," she told Fred when he pulled away far enough to get the words out without mumbling.

Fred tilted his head. "Really?" he said excitedly. "Let me guess, you'll let me give you back those galleons, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Even after all these years, he wouldn't leave that subject alone. "No," she told him with a mock frown. "It's something much more important than that."

Fred's expression changed from teasing and playful to completely controlled. Hermione now had his full attention. "I'm listening," he assured her.

"Well," she hedged, looking down and twisting her wedding ring around and around, "do you remember when we discussed the perfect family we'd like to have?"

Fred nodded, his slight frown telling Hermione without words that he was surprised by this sudden change in topic. "Yeah," he said slowly. "We decided on two little girls and two little boys. But Mione, what does that-?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows, waiting for it to click.

It did. Fred's mouth dropped open. "Are you sure?" he asked, gripping her hands tightly in his, hope shining in his eyes. With the complications of Clara's birth, the healers had warned the young couple that they might not have anymore children.

Hermione, however, was nodding at him, even now. "Very sure," she told him. "I got the news today." She smiled widely. "Another little boy."

Fred understood without another word that his dream family was falling into place. He drew Hermione close, holding her small frame to his body as though he could infuse her with all the love he had for her in that simple action. "Thank you," he whispered.

Hermione grinned, just as a loud thump signified that the quaffle had thumped against the side of the house. "No fair!" George cried. "You don't have an extra rider!"

"You're thanking me for providing you with more of that?" Hermione teased, sliding her arms around her husband's neck.

Fred smirked. "You can't fool me," he told her. "You love every minute of it."

And as he bent his head and kissed her again, Hermione knew that he was right. She had opened her heart to him, and she had loved him through the darkest of times. He, in turn, had loved her back with such an indescribable passion that couldn't be explained. In that moment, Hermione was glad that she had dared to work for the twins all those years ago.

She had dared to feel, and love was hers in return.

* * *

**A/N: I, personally, really like the way that this chapter finished everything off. I hope you agree, so please review and tell me! Thanks to all of those people that asked me for this chapter. It was fun to write! :D**


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